The death toll from a head-on collision between a bus and a sand-hauling truck in East China's Anhui province on Thursday morning has risen to 24, according to police.

HEFEI - At least 23 people have been killed in a head-on collision between a bus and a sand-hauling truck in East China's Anhui province on Thursday morning, according to official sources.

The crash occurred at about 6:30 am on a section of a road near Wangzhai township in the city of Suzhou, local traffic police said.

An injured passenger is taken away by medical workers after a head-on collision between two vehicles in Anhui, April 12, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

Three injured passengers have been rushed to a nearby hospital after being rescued from the wreckage of the badly smashed-up vehicles.

Zhao Qiang, chief of Anhui's traffic police department, said rescue attempts already completed as of 11 am.

Authorities have not yet disclosed the number of passengers on board the vehicles at the time of the crash, and a probe into the cause of the accident is under way.

Traffic accidents on China's roads result in about 70,000 deaths and 300,000 injuries each year, according to the Ministry of Public Security. Speeding, fatigue, drunk-driving and poor road conditions are usually blamed.