At least 30 people have been killed after a crash involving a passenger bus and a truck on a Brazilian highway.
Officials in the South American country said the incident happened on the Minas Gerais stretch of road in the southeast of the country on Saturday.
The Minas Gerais fire department, which responded to the scene, said 13 others were taken to hospitals near the city of Teofilo Otoni.
The bus had reportedly departed from Sao Paulo and was carrying 45 passengers when it crashed.
Authorities said Saturday afternoon that all victims had been removed from the site and an investigation would determine the cause of the accident.
Witnesses told rescue teams that the bus blew a tire, causing the driver to lose control and collide with a truck.
Footage shared on social media and thought to have been captured at the scene show the wreckages ablaze.
The Minas Gerais fire department, which responded to the scene, said 13 others were taken to hospitals near the city of Teofilo Otoni
Handout picture released by Minas Gerais Fire Department shows firefighters and other rescue teams working on the site of the crash
Footage shared on social media and thought to have been captured at the scene show the wreckages ablaze
Others claimed that a granite block had hit the bus causing the incident, the fire department added.
A car with three passengers inside also collided with the bus but all three people survived the collision.
Gov. Romeu Zema wrote on X that he ordered ‘full mobilization’ of the Minas Gerais government to assist the victims.
Zema said: ‘We are working to ensure that families of the victims are supported to face this tragedy in the most humane way possible, especially as it comes just before Christmas.’
In 2024, more than 10,000 people died in traffic accidents in Brazil, according to the Ministry of Transportation.
In September, a bus carrying a football team flipped on a road and killed three people.
The Coritiba Crocodiles, a team from the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, was headed to a game in Rio de Janeiro, where they were set to play in the country´s American football championship. The game was canceled following the deadly accident.
