Ten people were killed and 10 were injured Thursday when a van and a coach collided on a highway in southwest China's Yunnan Province, local authorities said.

The accident occurred on the Shilin County section of the highway that links the provincial capital, Kunming, and Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, at around 2:36 p.m., said a spokesman with the county government.

Nine people died at the scene and one died at a local hospital where the injured were being treated, he added.

The IVECO van was owned by Honghe Transport Group and the coach belonged to Shilin Automobile Service Co., Ltd., he said.

The police were investigating the accident, he added.