BEIJING - Three vehicles collided on a national highway in suburban Beijing, leaving four people dead and 11 others injured early Monday morning, local authorities said.

The accident happened at about 4:30 am on the Beijing-Tibet Expressway, which is notorious for traffic congestions, in the Changping District, according to Beijing Traffic Management Bureau.

The bureau said a truck-tractor rear-ended a van, causing it to collide with another van. Three people were immediately pronounced dead after the accident while one died in hospital after treatment failed.

Local authorities said they had dispatched more traffic police to the site to direct traffic flows on the expressway.