THIRTEEN people have been killed after an overloaded minivan collided with a truck in China.

The van hit the rear of the truck on an expressway in Henan province at around 2.40am.

The vehicle – which had a maximum capacity of nine passengers – was carrying 16 people when it “rear-ended a semi-trailer truck travelling ahead of it”.

It is thought three others were injured in the deadly collision.

China‘s Ministry of Public Security said the incident took place on the G40 expressway in the city of Nanyang.

The ministry said it had sent a working group to oversee the investigation and emergency response.

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Traffic accidents are a regular occurrence in China due to lax safety standards and disorderly driving.

In 2024, 11 people were killed – including five children – after a school bus ploughed into a crowd in China.

Dozens more were injured as the driver “lost control” and crashed into a group of parents and pupils standing outside a school in Tai’an city.

The crash reportedly happened just before 7.30am in the eastern province of Shandong.

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The driver was taken into custody in the aftermath of the harrowing incident.

It came only days after pupils went back to school for the beginning of the new academic year.

Horrific footage shared on social media showed the full extent of the accident.

Distraught parents were seen trying to help their injured children, while one image showed the front of the bus crumpled against a tree.

The authorities did not give any details on who was responsible for operating the school bus.

However, many schools contract out bus services to private companies.

Just months earlier another vehicle smashed into a group of pedestrians in Changsha.

Eight people were killed and several more injured.