JINAN -- Fourteen people were confirmed dead after two passenger coaches collided on an expressway in east China's Shandong Province on Sunday.

A passenger coach hit a sedan near Zibo City at 11:44 am, then broke through median barriers and collided with another coach traveling in the opposite lane, according to local traffic police.

The second coach rolled over into a trench alongside the expressway, which links Qingdao in Shandong to Yinchuan in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Six people died on the spot. Eight died in hospital. Currently, six injured people are receiving treatment.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.