BEIJING, April 8 (BSS/AFP) - Fourteen people were killed and 11 injured when a bus crashed into a ditch in northeast China, state media said Sunday, in the latest deadly accident on the country's hazardous roads.

The bus, which was carrying 25 people, plunged off a highway Saturday near the major port and transport hub of Dalian in Liaoning province, reported Xinhua news agency, citing local authorities.

China's roads are notoriously dangerous, with traffic laws and safety widely flouted.

Around 70,000 people die and 300,000 are injured in road accidents every year in China, state media have said citing police figures, but a recent World Health Organisation study said the true number is almost twice that.