The death toll from a collision involving a tractor, a mini-bus and a car in east China's Zhejiang Province rose to 16 Saturday afternoon, police said.

The collision happened at 1:54 p.m. in Yongzhong town, Longwan District of Wenzhou City, Zhejiang. The crash caused an explosion and 13 people died at the scene, and three people in hospital, said police.

The accident also injured 29 people, 13 of them seriously.

Witnesses said the tractor was blocked by the other two vehicles, which were stopped, and hit them as the driver tried to maneuver around them.

The vehicles were destroyed in the blast. Initial investigations found no traces of explosives at the scene. Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2008)