SHENYANG - A motor tricycle overturned on a mountain path on Sunday afternoon in Huanren Manchus autonomous county in northeast China's Liaoning Province, killing 20 and wounding four.

Three of the injured have been out of danger but the other one is still in critical condition, said Xin Xiaoming, head of the county, about 200 kilometers away from provincial capital Shenyang.

Local police said that all on board, including 22 women and one man, were farmers on their way home from picking potherb in a forest about 50 kilometers away from their village.

The accident happened at about 5:30 p.m. on a rugged mountain path when Shi Shujun, the 40-year-old driver, lost control of the brakes, said Xin.

The vehicle then slammed into nearby rocks along the slope before overturning. Nineteen died at the scene, one died in hospital and the other four, including the driver, were injured.

The driver only suffered from fracture in the right thighbone, but he lost his wife, niece and one of his sisters in the accident.

The victims, from 17 families in the village, were aged from 23 to 50.

Xin said the motor tricycle was registered and the driver had a driving licence.

As a farming vehicle, the motor tricycle is forbidden to carry passengers. But in remote rural areas where bus services are scarce or unavailable, farming vehicles are often handy, though dangerous, means for passenger transport.