WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Five children were among the seven people who were killed in a fiery, multi-vehicle crash Thursday on a Florida highway, authorities said Friday.

The children were believed to range in age from eight to teens, an officer with the Florida Highway Patrol told a press conference. Two tractor-trailer truck drivers were also killed in the accident.

The officer said the young victims were on a church passenger van from the state of Louisiana and the crash happened at 3:40 p.m. Thursday south of Gainesville in Florida, an hour of drive north of Walt Disney World, a popular theme park in Orlando.

The deadly crash, also causing a massive fire, involved the church van, two semi-tractor trailers and one midsize vehicle, according to the officer.

At least eight other people, including a pregnant woman, were injured in the crash.