COMMERCE, Ga. (AP) — Authorities say three people have been killed and at least six others injured when a van careened off an interstate and down an embankment in northeast Georgia.

The Georgia State Patrol said the 15-passenger van was carrying 12 people when it went off Interstate 85 near the town of Commerce about 7 a.m. Monday.

Georgia State Patrol Capt. Mark Perry tells The Associated Press authorities have confirmed three deaths. Perry said six others were taken to hospitals.

Spokeswoman Teri Pope with the Georgia Department of Transportation said one of two southbound lanes was closed and would likely remain so for hours around the site, about 65 miles northeast of Atlanta.

She said traffic was backing up in the area along the interstate, a key route between Georgia and the Carolinas.