Fire officials said a passenger bus collided with a truck near the town of Laguna in southeastern Minas Gerais state.
At least 32 people were killed when a passenger bus and a truck collided on a highway in southeastern Brazil.
Minas Gerais state’s fire department responded to the accident near the town of La Lainha early Saturday morning, saying “32 to 35 people” were killed.
The newspaper earlier announced that 13 people were taken to hospital near the city of Teofilo Otoni.
The bus reportedly left Sao Paulo and was carrying 45 passengers.
Authorities said the bus had a flat tire, the driver lost control and crashed into a truck. According to the fire department, a car also collided with the bus, but all three passengers survived.
All victims have been removed from the scene and an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident, authorities said.
Governor Romeu Zema wrote in X that he ordered the Minas Gerais state government to “mobilize in full” to support the survivors and families of the victims.
“We are working to ensure that the families of the victims are supported to cope with this tragedy in the most humane way possible, especially just before Christmas,” Zema said.
According to Brazilian media Globo, the truck driver fled the scene and police are searching for him.
According to the Federal Highway Police, the highway where the accident occurred was the deadliest highway in the country in 2023, with 559 deaths recorded, Globo newspaper reported.
According to the Ministry of Transport, more than 10,000 people will die in traffic accidents in Brazil in 2024.
In September, a bus carrying the Coritiba Crocodiles soccer team overturned on the road, killing three people.
The team from the southern city of Curitiba was scheduled to travel to Rio de Janeiro for a match, but the match was canceled due to an accident.
