GUIYANG - Seven people have been confirmed dead and another two injured after a minibus fell from a mountain highway in Southwest China's Guizhou province on Tuesday, local police said.

The minibus carrying nine passengers plunged about 250 meters off a cliff in Libo county, Bouyei-Miao autonomous prefecture of Qiannan, at 2:10 am Tuesday.

The public security department, fire department and traffic police rushed to the scene to carry out rescue efforts and investigate the cause of the accident.

Firefighters pulled two people that had been trapped in the crushed vehicle to safety, and they have been sent to the hospital for treatment, firefighters said.