16 dead, 25 injured in China road accidents

At least 16 people were killed -- including nine schoolchildren -- and 25 injured in two car accidents in China on Monday, one of which involved over 100 vehicles, state press reported.

The nine children died when the vehicle in which they were travelling plunged off a road in central Hunan province early Monday, Xinhua news agency said.

One person was missing in the accident in Hengnan county, while 10 others were injured, the report said.

In the second accident, seven people were killed and 15 injured during a pile up involving over 100 vehicles on a fog-shrouded highway in southwest Guizhou province, Xinhua said in a separate report.

Visibility was less than 50 metres (yards) on the road when the pile-up occurred. Following the accident, traffic on the highway backed up for 20 kilometres (12 miles), the report said.

China's roads are among the most dangerous in the world, with traffic laws widely flouted.

Almost 70,000 people died in road accidents in 2009, or around 190 fatalities a day, according to police statistics.

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