Eight people died and three others were injured in a 14-car pileup in the Liugou River section of Xi'ai-Lanzhou superhighway this morning in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu province, people.com.cn reported Friday.

A witness surnamed Zhang said the crashed cars blocked the road for a mile. "Five people died in a medium-sized van, and three died in a Chinese Xiali car," said Zhang.

Police are investigating the accident.