Nine people were killed and 17 injured when a bus and truck collided Wednesday in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, according to local work safety administration.

The crash occurred at around 10 a.m. on a highway near Qinjiayao Village of Xinghe County, Ulanqab City, when a bus from neighboring Hebei Province and an Inner Mongolia-registered heavy truck loaded with coal collided. Xinghe is 280 km northwest of Beijing.

On the bus were 26 passengers, eight of whom died at the scene and one died later in hospital. The dead were six men and three women. Further information on their identities was not immediately available.

The 17 injured, including one in serious condition, are receiving emergency treatment at two local hospitals.

Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2009)