BEIJING, April 23 (Reuters) - A bus plunged 20 metres (65 feet) off a highway overpass in southwest China on Monday killing at least 24 people, state media said.

It was the second serious traffic accident in Chongqing, a mountainous metropolis of 30 million people, in 10 days. "Twenty-two people were killed on the spot and two died in hospital," state television said. Seven were injured, five seriously.

A pile-up of 52 vehicles, mostly trucks, killed five people and injured 36 on a Chongqing highway on April 13.

A plunged off a bridge in Chonqqing last October, killing 30 people and injuring more than 20.

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