BEIJING, Sept 13: A bus careered off a road in mountainous southwest China and plunged into a valley on Saturday, killing all 51 people known to be aboard, state media reported, citing local officials.

The bus, which was travelling from the city of Bazhong in Sichuan province to Ningbo in eastern Zhejiang province, went off the road in a mountainous area, Xinhua news agency quoted a local official as saying. The official said 51 people were on board when the bus left Bazhong, but it was not immediately clear if other passengers had been picked up along the way.

Witnesses said they heard an explosion and saw thick smoke rising from the site of the crash, the report said.

Sichuan provincial governor Jiang Jufeng was headed to the site to supervise the search and rescue operation, but so far, no survivors had been found, Xinhua said.—AFP