CHANGSHA, Nov. 1 -- Twenty-three people were injured after a coach slid and plunged into a pit in central China's Hunan Province on Saturday, local authorities said.

The tourist coach, travelling on the road near Zengfu Village of Xinning County, in rain and slid before falling into the seven-meter deep pit at around 8 a.m., according to the county's publicity department.

Twenty-three passengers including the driver got injured. With the help of locals, they were rescued from the coach and sent to the hospitals immediately after the incident, it said.

Traffic police are investigating the cause of the accident.