Eight people were killed and seven others injured in a traffic accident in western Turkey on Saturday, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

The report said that the tragedy occurred when a minibus driving from Izmir province to Turkey's largest city Istanbul collided with a jeep on the Izmir-Istanbul highway in Saruhanli town of Manisa province.

The injured had been taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, said the report, adding the traffic accident happened due to heavy rain.