Thirteen people died and 41 others were injured, including nine people who sustained serious injuries, when a heavy-duty truck collided with a coach in central China's Hunan Province Tuesday morning, a spokesman for the local government said.

The accident occurred at 6:45 a.m. in Zhongfang county after the truck smashed through the guardrail and crashed into the coach driving on the opposite side of the Shanghai-Kunming expressway, said a spokesman with the city government of Huaihua, which administers Zhongfang.

Nine people were killed at the scene, and another four died on the way to hospital, said the spokesman.

It is not yet known how many people were on board the bus and the truck.

Further investigation is underway.