MANILA -- Nine people have been killed and 15 others injured after a mini dump truck, carrying 24 people, plunged into a ravine in Sultan Kudarat province in the southern Philippines, police said on Thursday.

Police said the crash happened at around 5:20 pm local time on Wednesday while the truck was navigating a downhill curve along a highway in Lebak town.

According to the police, the truck's brakes failed, causing it to crash into concrete debris from an ongoing road construction project before falling into a 20-foot ravine.

Emergency workers rushed the injured passengers to a local hospital, where eight were pronounced dead on arrival and another died hours later.

It's common in Philippine rural areas to use a dump truck to transport people.