WASHINGTON - Seven people, including three children, were killed Sunday after a van plunged off a highway near the Bronx Zoo in New York City, police said.

The out-of-control van flipped off the highway and fell some 50 feet (15 meters) into the Bronx Zoo, killing all those aboard, a police spokesman said.

The van landed in a relatively remote section of the zoo, without injuring any other person or animal. Local police and fire department officials were on the scene, while part of the highway was closed for investigation.