Ten South Korean government employees and one Chinese person have been killed in a bus plunge in northeastern China, officials said Thursday.
  

The accident occurred at around 3:30 p.m. (local time) Wednesday, with the bus plunging 15 meters off the bridge in the northeastern Chinese city of Jian. The Korean passengers were on a training program organized by the South Korean government.
  

The cause of the accident was not immediately clear and the Chinese driver of the bus was pronounced dead earlier Thursday.
  

China's foreign ministry on Thursday voiced "profound condolences" to the victims and their family members.
  

"We feel deeply sorry for the deceased and express profound condolences to the injured and the bereaved families," China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing.
  

Hua said, "The Chinese side attaches great importance to the accident" and has been in close communication with the South Korean Embassy in Beijing to jointly deal with follow-up measures.
  

A total of 26 South Koreans were on the bus at that time and the 16 injured were being treated and their conditions were not life-threatening.
  

Officials at the South Korean Consulate in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang have been sent to Jian. (Yonhap)