At least ten South Korean government officials visiting China were killed after their bus fell off a bridge in Jilin Province on Wednesday.

south korean officials bus crash
Photo: CCTV news via Weibo.

Images posted on social media showed the coach, which was carrying 26 South Korean officials, a Chinese driver and a tour guide, was upside down and badly damaged. The officials were from a training institute affiliated with South Korea’s Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, according to China News Network.

south korean officials bus crash
Photo: 小太阳美美时光环 via Weibo.

The accident happened in Liangshui, a town with a large ethnic Korean population at around 3:45pm. The coach was heading towards Dandong, a Chinese city bordering North Korea.

Nine people were declared dead on the scene. Local authorities revised the death toll to ten at 10:26pm on Wednesday. Eighteen others, including the two Chinese nationals, were sent to a local hospital for treatment.

Vivienne Zeng is a journalist from China with three years' experience covering Hong Kong and mainland affairs. She has an MA in journalism from the University of Hong Kong. Her work has been featured on outlets such as Al Jazeera+ and MSNBC.