A tourist bus collided with a car near the town of Lajinha in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, fire officials said.
At least 32 people were killed when a bus and a car collided on a highway in southeastern Brazil.
Fire officials in the state of Minas Gerais, who responded to the accident near the town of Lajinha early Saturday, said “between 32 and 35 people” were killed.
It already said that 13 people were taken to hospitals near the city of Teofilo Otoni.
The bus is said to have left Sao Paulo and was carrying 45 people.
Officials said the bus had a tire blowout which caused the driver to lose control and collide with the car. Another car collided with the bus, but all three occupants survived, according to fire officials.
All the people involved in the accident have been evacuated from the scene, and an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident, officials said.
Governor Romeu Zema wrote on X that he ordered the “total mobilization” of the government of Minas Gerais to help the survivors and the families of the victims.
“We are trying to make sure that the families of the people affected by this accident will be helped to deal with this tragedy with kindness, especially when it comes before Christmas,” said Zema.
According to Globo, a Brazilian journalist, the driver fled and the police are looking for him.
According to the Federal Highway Police, the highway where the accident happened is the deadliest in the country in 2023 with 559 people dead, Globo said.
In 2024, more than 10,000 people died in road accidents in Brazil, according to the Ministry of Transport.
In September, a bus carrying the Coritiba Crocodiles soccer team plunged into a road, killing three people.
The team from the southern city of Curitiba went to a match in Rio de Janeiro, which was canceled after the accident.