"There was a big van driving close to the minibus and the minibus suddenly lost control and went off the road, hit a tree and rolled into a deep ditch," Yu Qingqian, who survived the accident, told Liaoshen Evening News on Sunday.

Following the accident, Dalian government plans to crack down on speeding, drunken driving and driving when fatigued.

China has witnessed six major road accidents so far this year, killing 88 people.

Building explosion

On Saturday, another accident with heavy casualties occurred in Heilongjiang province.

Six people were confirmed dead and four others injured in an explosion early on Saturday that ripped through a residential building in the province, local authorities said.

The blast occurred at 4:50 am on Saturday on the sixth floor of a building in the city of Mudanjiang. Rescuers pulled four injured people from the damaged building and they were taken to a hospital for treatment, the Mudanjiang publicity department said on Sunday.

Preliminary investigation revealed that an explosion of a liquefied petroleum gas cylinder in a home on the sixth floor caused the explosion.

Nearby residents have been evacuated for their safety, according to the publicity department.

Firefighters investigate after an explosion in a residential building in Mudanjiang city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, on Saturday. Photos by Xiao Jinbiao / for China Daily