CHANGSHA, May 23 -- Eight people have been confirmed dead as of 10:30 p.m. and more than 40 others injured after a bus overturned in central China's Hunan Province, local authorities said.

The accident happened at 11:40 a.m. on Saturday in Xinning County when the bus, carrying 52 passengers, all employees of a company from the capital city Changsha, ran into a road barrier on the expressway from Changsha to the county.

The passengers were on their way to Langshan Mountain for a trip.

Rain had made driving conditions unsafe and the bus crashed into the guardrail after the driver hit the brakes, according to an initial investigation. The driver has been detained.

All the injured have been hospitalized. Five were in critical condition.