A crash between a passenger bus and a truck early Saturday killed 37 people on a highway in Minas Gerais, a state in southeastern Brazil, officials said.
The Minas Gerais Fire Department, which arrived at the scene, said 13 others were taken to hospitals near the town of Teofilo Otoni. The bus had reportedly left Sao Paulo carrying 45 passengers.
Authorities said Saturday afternoon that all victims had been removed from the site and that an investigation would determine the cause of the accident. Witnesses told rescue teams that the bus had blown a tire, causing the driver to lose control and crash into a truck. Others said a granite block hit the bus, the fire department added.
A car carrying three passengers also collided with the bus, but all three survived.
Governor Romeu Zema wrote on X that he ordered “full mobilization” of the government of Minas Gerais to help 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 as it takes place just before Christmas,” Zema said.
More than 10,000 people died in traffic accidents in Brazil in 2024, according to the Ministry of Transport.
In September, a bus carrying a football team crashed onto the road and killed three people. The Coritiba Crocodiles, a team from the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, were on their way to a match in Rio de Janeiro, where they would play in the country’s American football championship. The match was canceled after the fatal accident.
