Rescuers transfer the body of a road accident victim to a hospital in Quetta, southwest Pakistan, April 16, 2019. At least 11 people, including women and children, were killed and nine others injured in a head-on collision between a truck and a passenger van in Mastung district of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, local media reported on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Stringer)

ISLAMABAD, April 16 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 people, including women and children, were killed and nine others injured in a head-on collision between a truck and a passenger van in Mastung district of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, local media reported on Tuesday.

According to media, the accident happened when an over-speeding truck collided with a passenger van coming from the opposite direction at the National Highway near the Dasht area of the district, killing five passengers on the spot while injuring 15 others.

Following the incident, rescuers, police and local people rushed to the site and shifted the bodies and injured to a nearby hospital, where six of them succumbed to their injuries during treatment, said the hospital sources.

A hospital official said that the death toll might further rise as several injured were in critical conditions which include women and children.

The ill-fated van was heading towards the provincial capital of Quetta from the southern port city of Karachi when the accident occurred.

The passenger van was completely destroyed in the accident, reported local media, adding that the bodies of the dead and injured were retrieved after cutting parts of the van.

Police officials in the area said the accident happened due to over-speeding and negligence of the truck driver, and that a case has been registered against the driver over negligence.