NANCHANG - A bus collided with a heavy trailer on Sunday afternoon, leaving eight dead and eight others injured in East China's Jiangxi province, police said on Monday.

The accident happened at 1:45 pm when the bus carrying 48 passengers rammed into the trailer on the highway in Guixi in Yingtan city of Jiangxi.

Five people aboard the bus died at the scene and another three after being sent to hospital, while three of those injured are in a serious condition, according to police.

Investigation of the cause of the accident is under way.