BEIJING - An overloaded bus taking mourners to a funeral veered off a mountain road and plunged into a ravine in northern China, killing 11 people and injuring 31, state media reported Sunday.

Forty-two people were on the private 19-seat bus heading to the funeral when it careened off the road Saturday morning in the remote Ningxia region, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Thirteen seriously injured people were in a critical condition while 18 others were in stable condition on Sunday, Huang Luning, head of the People`s Hospital in Haiyuan county where the accident happened, told Xinhua.

The county`s top traffic official was fired after the accident and three other officials were suspended, the report said, without explaining why.

The youngest of those injured was seven months old and the oldest 77 years old, Huang said.

China`s roads are among the most dangerous in the world, with nearly 73,500 people dying in road accidents in 2008 to yield just over 200 fatalities every day, according to the most recent police statistics.

BDST: 1423 HRS, June 27, 2010
DC