Seven people were killed Wednesday in a head-on collision between a car and a van on a highway under construction in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, local police said.

The police said the accident occurred on a highway between Shanghai and Chongqing at about 3:40 p.m., when the overloaded car collided with the van.

Police said the car, meant to hold five, had seven passengers. Both vehicles had violated regulations by using a road that wasn't yet open to traffic.

The driver and six passengers in the car died at the scene. The driver of the van was unharmed and taken into custody.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

(Xinhua News Agency March 19, 2009)