Photo taken on Aug. 26, 2014 shows a bus collided head-on with a truck on a highway in Guazhou County in the city of Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province. Thirteen people were killed in the accident on Tuesday afternoon. The accident occurred at about 12:20 p.m. when the bus broke through the central partition and ran into the opposite lane to crash into the oncoming semi-trailer truck on the highway. The number of injured is still being verified. (Xinhua)

LANZHOU, Aug. 26 -- Thirteen people were killed on Tuesday afternoon when a bus carrying 61 people collided head-on with a truck on a highway in northwest China's Gansu Province.

The accident occurred at about 12:20 p.m. when the bus broke through the central partition and ran into the opposite lane to crash into the oncoming semi-trailer truck on a highway in Guazhou County in the city of Jiuquan, the county police department said in a statement.

Eleven of the dead were passengers on the bus and two were in the truck.

The number of injured is still being verified.

The bus, owned by a company in Urumqi, capital of the far western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, was en route from Miquan in Urumqi to Guyuan in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

The overloaded 55-seater bus was carrying seven children.