A bus ran off a road in northern China into a freezing section of the Yellow River, leaving 28 people missing and presumed dead, official media said on Sunday.
The accident occurred late on Saturday in Hanggin prefecture of the Inner Mongolia region, state-run China Central Television said.
Eight of the 36 passengers had been rescued, but the remainder were presumed dead, the report said.
Citing local officials, the official Xinhua news agency earlier on Saturday said 27 of 35 passengers were missing after part of the icy road adjacent to the river collapsed, causing the bus to slide into the water.
It said that rescue operations were continuing despite freezing weather and the deep water level of the river, but that rescuers held out little hope of finding the remaining passengers alive. — Sapa-AP