Eight died in a traffic accident in east China's Jiangxi Province Monday caused by dense foggy weather, said local police.

A minibus run into a crane driving in the opposite direction at 7:52 a.m. Monday at Changwan highway, killing the driver and seven other passengers on the spot.

According to the investigation, minibus was speeding and driving in the left lane, when fog reduced the visibility to within 50 meters, local police said.

Dense fog has blanked about 102,000 square kilometers of Jiangxi Province, or 61 percent of the total area in Jiangxi, for four straight days. Currently the visibility is below 500 meters in the morning, according to Jiangxi provincial observatory.

Expressways had been closed at night and some flights were delayed.

The fog is expected to be clear Tuesday, local observatory said.

Source: Xinhua