JINAN - Eight people have died and four others were injured after an overloaded car collided with a truck in East China's Shandong province early Monday morning, local authorities said.

The accident happened around 2:50 am, when a five-seater car carrying 12 people slammed into a truck loaded with sand in the city of Zibo, a fire control official told Xinhua.

The official said seven passengers were killed at the scene and one died in hospital after medical treatment failed.

An investigation into the cause of the accident is under way.