Hong Kong  - A 17-year-old girl was killed Monday and 35 other passengers injured, seven of them critically, when a double-decker bus overturned in Hong Kong.

The bus, which some witnesses said was speeding, toppled onto its side on a roundabout as it travelled from Hong Kong's Central district to the Kowloon district shortly after midnight.

Some passengers had to be cut free by firefighters from the wreckage. Seven were critically injured and the 17-year-old was declared dead when she arrived at hospital, a police spokesman said.

The bus driver, who was also injured, was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving causing death. He was being held for questioning.

Hong Kong's transport secretary, Eva Cheng, told reporters a full report into the accident had been demanded from the bus operator, the Kowloon Motor Bus company.

New safety measures for bus operators might be introduced depending on the outcome of the investigation into the crash, she said.

Last year, 18 mostly elderly people died in a Hong Kong bus that overturned and rolled over on a roundabout near the city's Sai Kung district.

That death toll was the worst in any single road accident in Hong Kong since 2003 when 21 people died as a double-decker bus was shunted off the edge of a 30-metre highway bridge by a truck.  (dpa)