RIO DE JANEIRO, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Seven people were killed early Wednesday when a truck collided with a medical transport van in Brazil's northeastern state of Pernambuco, local police said.

The van, owned by the Petrolandia city government, was carrying nine people, including patients and a driver, to Arcoverde for medical treatment when the crash occurred on a highway.

Six passengers in the van and the truck driver died. The cause of the accident is under investigation, local authorities said. ■