NANCHANG - A traffic accident that killed seven in Jiangxi province was caused by a bus illegally crossing the median line, said local police on Wednesday.

The Guangdong-registered bus with 38 on board smashed head-on into a van carrying 13 people on a highway in the township of Datangbu in Xinfeng county at 3:15 pm Tuesday, said Zhu Da, a police officer with the public security bureau of Xinfeng.

Two people were killed at the scene, while five others died in hospital. Two of the seven dead were children, Zhu said.

Another 20 people were injured, among whom three were in serious condition.

The dead and the seriously injured were all locals of Xinfeng county, Zhu said.