A truck carrying 19 PLA soldiers on a rescue mission was seen fall off a cliff at about 12:40 p.m. Saturday when it was running on a mountain road leading to Tianquan County in the quake-hit Ya'an in southwestern China's Sichuan Province.

Two soldier have been confirmed dead - one was killed at the scene, the other died after being sent to hospital, according to Chengdu Evening News.

The six injured, including three in critical condition, are receiving treatment at a hospital in Xingjing County, the report said.

The website Caijing.com.cn reports that the accident happened after the truck tried to avoid hitting a private car that suffered a flat tire.

The vehicle and the soldiers belong to the PLA Army's 13th Combined Corps under the Chengdu Military Area Command, Xinhua reports.

Local authorities have urged private vehicles to avoid artery roads and yield to the motorcades carrying rescuers and disaster-relief materials as landslides caused by the quake have blocked several roads linking the hard-hit areas.

(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2013)