Two students were killed and more than a dozen others injured in a traffic accident in Southwest China's Guizhou province on Monday morning, authorities said.

The accident occurred at around 7 am in Hezhang county, when a vehicle carrying students struck a large truck that had been parked by the roadside, according to local officials.

Initial reports from Xinhua News Agency said 11 students were injured, but local authorities later updated the figure to 14. All injured persons were taken to hospital for treatment. Two of those most seriously hurt were reported to be in stable condition.

Authorities said the driver, a 49-year-old man surnamed Zhang, had been carrying more passengers than permitted at the time of the crash.

He was taken into police custody. Tests ruled out alcohol or drug impairment, officials added.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

The Ministry of Emergency Management dispatched a task force to the scene, along with officials from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Security, to oversee rescue and response efforts.

The Work Safety Commission under the State Council has placed the case under special supervision and instructed the Guizhou provincial government to step up the level of its investigation.