9 missing after minivan plunges into reservoir

Nine people, including five children, have gone missing after a minivan fell into a reservoir in southwest China's Guizhou province on Sunday, local authorities said.

The accident happened at about 2:45 p.m., when a minivan carrying 14 passengers fell into the Shiqiaohe Reservoir in Pu'an County, said an official from the county government.

Five people managed to climb out of the vehicle before it sank, while nine others remained missing, the official said.

The driver has been identified as a teacher from a local primary school, but it is not yet clear whether the vehicle was acting as a school bus when the accident happened, the official added.

The reservoir was described as being 20 meters deep, and rescuers are still searching for the vehicle within which the passengers are believed to be trapped.