At least 22 dead in China road crash

Beijing

At least 22 people were killed Friday when a truck slammed through a highway guardrail into an oncoming bus in China and two more vehicles crashed, state media reported.

The front of the truck and the bus in the central province of Hunan burst into flames, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The victims' remains had fused together, making initial confirmation of the toll difficult, it added. Another 13 people were injured.

China's roads are notoriously dangerous, with traffic regulations often flouted and long-distance buses overcrowded.

The World Health Organization said in May that more than 200,000 people are killed in road accidents in China every year -- at least four times official statistics, which are shrouded in secrecy.