Seven people were killed after a bus ran off a road and plunged into a pond Thursday morning in east China's Anhui Province, according to local authorities.

The bus, which was carrying 16 people and was heading from the city of Tongcheng to the city of Anqing, drove into the pond at around 6:35 a.m., according to the publicity department of the city of Tongcheng.

The other nine passengers, as well as another driver of an electric bicycle who was going in the same direction, were rushed to a nearby hospital to receive medical treatment.

The bus driver and conductor were employed by the local security bureau.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.