LHASA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Seventeen people were killed in a serious traffic accident that occurred on May 16 in Hagqu Prefecture of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, said local traffic police Monday.

    At 11 a.m. on May 16, a truck carrying 24 farmers overturned out of control and fell into a deep valley at Nyima County of Nagqu Prefecture in Tibet, leaving 17 people dead on the spot and seven others injured.

    The farmers were originally carried by a medium-sized bus which set out from Huangzhong County in Qinghai Province on May 8 and was bound for a gold mine in Nagqu Prefecture. When the bus arrived at Amdo County of the Nagqu on May 16, the farmers were transferred to the truck in order to take a short-cut route.

    The driver responsible for the accident escaped and the traffic police from the Nagqu public security bureau are tracing the driver. Further investigation is underway. Enditem