XI'AN - Eight people died and five others were injured after a coach was hijacked and set on fire in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Thursday, local police said.

The incident happened at about 12:40 p.m. near the entrance of a tunnel on the Fuzhou-Yinchuan Highway in Lantian County, according to the public security bureau of Xi'an City, capital of Shaanxi.

The police declined to release more details, citing ongoing criminal investigation into the case.