China bus crash claims 25 lives

25 people were killed when a bus crashed off a mountain road in China as the freezing winter takes its toll on the country.

The bus plunged more than 40m from a snowy mountain road in the southwest province of Guizhou, Xinhua news agency reported.

Elsewhere, about 24 people have died in recent weather related accidents,including three workers killed while trying to fix iced-up power lines.

Premier Wen Jiabao visited the stricken Hunan province in the south, Xinhua said. Wen first flew to neighboring Hubei province, because Hunan's main airport was iced-in.

As coal prices continue to rise and power plants shut down capacity China is facing a record power shortage. Continuous heavy snow in many parts of China has snarled coal transportation and destroyed electricity cables.

Icy temperatures, snow and sleet covering much of central, eastern and southern China has crippled thousands of trucks and trains loaded with coal, food and passengers in the most severe winter weather seen there in 50 years.

In Shanghai, shelves in shops emptied as people stocked up on food supplies. Jiabao warned residents of Shanghai and neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the country's, economic hub, to stay indoors.