A head-on collision between a truck and a van in Anhui province Saturday morning left two people dead at the scene and nine others injured, rescuers said.

The accident happened at around 6 a.m. on an expressway in Jinzhai county of Liu'an City, said an officer of the local fire brigade who joined the rescue effort.

He said most of the victims were on board the van, which had a license plate from Henan province.

Both vehicles were severely damaged and rescuers had to use cutting tools and high-pressure hydraulic equipment to free the truck driver who was stuck in the wreckage, the officer said.

The firefighter said the cause of the accident remains unclear.

The weather report released by the central meteorological station, however, said parts of Anhui were shrouded in heavy fog Saturday morning, and visibility in some areas was less than 500 meters.