A sedan ran off a freeway in east China's Anhui Province Sunday morning, leaving six persons dead, local police said.

The sedan drove out of the freeway at the section of the Wuwei County and fell down into a ditch at the road side, drowning six passengers aboard the vehicle, according to Ma Chuang, deputy chief of the Anhui Provincial Traffic Police Corps.

Initial investigations show that the accident was caused by fatigued and speeding driving, Ma said.

The Santana sedan, which carried a license plate registered at east China's Zhejiang Province, was overloaded when the accident took place, Ma said.

Further investigation is underway.

(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2006)