At least 13 people were killed and three others injured after an overloaded minivan collided with a truck on an expressway in central China, authorities said on Thursday.
According to the traffic management bureau of China’s Ministry of Public Security, the accident occurred around 2:40 a.m. local time on the G40 expressway in Nanyang, Henan province.
The minivan, which had a maximum capacity of nine passengers, was reportedly carrying 16 people when it crashed into the rear of a semi-trailer truck travelling ahead of it.
In a statement posted on the Weibo social media platform, the bureau said the van “rear-ended a semi-trailer truck travelling ahead of it.”
The ministry said it had attached “great importance” to the incident and immediately dispatched a working group led by a traffic management bureau official to oversee the investigation and response efforts in Nanyang.
Deadly road accidents are relatively common in China, often blamed on poor safety enforcement and reckless driving practices.
