BEIJING, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- China reported 57,168 deaths in 241,734 road accidents in the first nine months of this year, 13 percent and 15.8 percent down year-on-year, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Public Security.

Those accidents also caused 288,490 injuries and a direct economic loss of 850 million yuan (about 113 million U.S. dollars), which represented a drop of 13.4 percent and 27 percent respectively from last year.

In 21 serious accidents, each causing at least 10 deaths, 323 people had died, said the report.

During the nine months, 30 provinces, regions and municipalities saw year-on-year decrease in the number of deaths in road accidents. The central and western regions saw sharper decreases than the country's average.

In 2006, 89,455 people died and 431,139 others were injured in accidents, causing a direct economic loss of 1,490 million yuan (about 200 million U.S. dollars).

China has been seeing a surging demand on private cars in recent years. At the end of 2006, private cars had totaled 50 million, up 15.2 percent over the previous year, according to the Statistic Bulletin of National Economy and Social Development in 2006.