CHENGDU -- Nine people went missing after a van fell into a river in Southwest China's Sichuan province, local police confirmed on Saturday.

The accident happened on Friday morning, when a gray van, registered in Sichuan with license plate number UX3796, fell into a river in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture.

Nine people in the van remain missing. They were all villagers from the Bukhamuta village of Zamtang county, including the driver and his family.

More than 700 rescuers are searching for the missing.

The accident happened in a sparsely populated location. The river was swollen after days of rains, making rescue efforts difficult.