The incident occurred Tuesday afternoon in Pengze county, a rural area 480 kilometres (300 miles) west of Shanghai dotted with small bodies of water and interlacing streams.

The crash took place on a downhill section of road likely made slippery by recent rainfall, according to New Security, a publication under the state-run People's Daily Press.

The seven-seat SUV was typically used to transport children attending a private kindergarten in the area, the report said.

"Several children from the kindergarten were in the vehicle at the time of the accident," it said, citing local officials.

A previous statement published overnight by county security authorities confirmed that eight people had died including the driver, identified as a 49-year-old woman surnamed Luo.

The statement gave no information on the other victims but said an investigation was ongoing.

One local villager said that his friend's four-year-old child was among the victims, according to the New Security report.