KUNMING -- Seven people have died and another five injured after a traffic collision involving a truck and a crane in Southwest China's Yunnan province Monday morning.

The accident, which occurred at about 5:30 am, on a highway in Jianshui county, involved a crane traveling along a road against traffic flow, resulting in it crashing in to a small truck.

The truck, with a stated capacity of three, had 12 passengers, all the fatalities and injuries were in the truck. Two are in a critical condition. The injured are under observation at hospital.

Officials of the province ordered that highway safety management should be tightened.