5 Dead, 2 injured in SW China tricycle accident

Five people died and another two were injured when a motorized tricycle plunged into a valley on Friday evening in southwest China's Yunnan Province, authorities said Saturday. The accident happened around 7 p.m. when the motorized tricycle carrying seven people, including the driver, fell off Liangshan Road in Yuanmou County, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, into a 50-meter-deep valley, said a spokesman with the prefecture. The injured were sent to hospital, and their injuries were not life threatening, said the spokesman. The cause of the accident is under investigation. As a farming vehicle, the motorized tricycle is not allowed to carry passengers in China. But in remote rural areas, farming vehicles are often used for passenger transport.