Beijing - A collision between a bus and a truck Saturday morning killed 18 people and left another 22 injured in south-western China, local media reported. A passenger bus traveling in Chuxiong prefecture, Yunnan Province, veered off the road early morning after being hit from the rear by a truck, according to the Xinhua news agency.

Sixteen passengers on the bus died, along with two passengers in the truck.

The truck collided with the bus, after the bus driver slowed to avoid a swerving vehicle ahead, the report said.

Official statistics indicate that China has the highest rate of traffic fatalities in the world, with 5.1 road accident deaths for every 10,000 motor vehicles in 2007, compared with an average global rate of two deaths.(dpa)