Thirteen people died and 41 others were injured, including nine seriously, when a heavy-duty truck collided with a coach in central China's Hunan Province Tuesday morning, a spokesman for the local government said.

Thirteen people died and 41 others were injured, including nine seriously, when a heavy-duty truck collided with a coach in Hunan Province Tuesday morning. In the picture rescuers at the site have to dismantle the mangled bus in order to extricate the passengers inside.

The accident occurred at 6:45 a.m. in Zhongfang county after the truck smashed through the guardrail and crashed into the coach driving on the opposite side of the Shanghai-Kunming expressway, said a spokesman with the city government of Huaihua, which administers Zhongfang.

Nine people were killed at the scene, and another four died on the way to hospital, said the spokesman.

Rescuers at the site said they had to dismantle the mangled bus in order to extricate the passengers inside, many of whom were tightly sandwiched between the deformed seats.

The icy rain and the lack of stretchers also hampered the rescuer efforts.

Initial probe said the coach, carrying passengers from southeast China's Fujian Province, was heading for the Guizhou Province in southwest China, said the spokesman.

It is not yet known how many people were on board the bus and the truck.

Further investigation is underway.