7 Confirmed dead, 2 missing after minibus plunges into river in SW China

Seven people were confirmed dead and two others missing after a minibus plunged into a river in southwest China''s Sichuan Province, local authorities said Thursday. The minibus, carrying nine construction workers, plunged about 70 meters off a cliff into the Yalong River in Yajiang County Monday night, the Sichuan Provincial Work Safety Administration announced in a statement. According to China''s (Xinhua) News Agency, seven bodies have been retrieved and rescuers are still searching for the two missing people. The workers were from a local construction company that is building a power transmission project in Yajiang, the statement said. Local authorities are investigating the cause of the accident, it said.