A traffic collision kills five people and injures two others in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, local authorities said on Tuesday.

The accident took place Monday night on a highway under construction in the Hui Autonomous County of Yanqi.

An unnamed county government spokesman said a car collided head-on with a truck.

All the five people in the car were killed instantly.

Two people riding in the truck were injured, the spokesman said. They are being treated at a local hospital and are in stable condition.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.

(Xinhua News Agency October 14, 2008)