MOKPO -- A rental car driven by an unlicensed high school student has crashed into a passenger sedan in the southwestern city of Mokpo, killing three people and injuring four others, police said Monday.

The fatal head-on collision occurred on a road in the Sang-dong district of Mokpo, 410 kilometers south of Seoul, at 11:42 p.m. Sunday, the Mokpo Police Station said, adding the exact cause of the accident is under investigation.

In the accident, two of five high school students in the rental car died and three other passengers sustained serious injuries, police said.

One of the three passengers in the other car involved in the crash also died, with two others seriously injured, they said, noting the sedan was driven by a hired designated driver at that time.

Police said all students in the rental car are under the minimum driving age, and they may have forged a driver's license to rent the car.

They said they are currently looking into the exact cause of the accident based on questioning the rental car driver and both cars' dash cam videos. (Yonhap)