At least 19 dead as double-decker bus smashes head-on into truck in fireball crash in Mexico

AT LEAST 19 people have died following a horror head-on collision between a passenger bus and a freight lorry in Mexico.

A further 22 have been left injured as a result of the fireball crash, local authorities report.

Almost 50 people were said to be on board the bus when disaster struck at 5.15am local time on Tuesday.

The incident took place on a highway in the township of Elota, near the port city of Mazatland in northern Mexico, director of the state civil defence office Roy Navarrete said.

The bus had been travelling from the city of Guadalajara in the western state of Jalisco to Los Mochis in Sinaloa.

Local media report that the lorry overturned on the road when the bus drove into it, leading both vehicles to catch fire.

“Nineteen lifeless bodies have been counted,” Sara Quinonez, attorney general of Sinaloa state, said in a video posted on social media.

“We still do not have the total number of people who were travelling; we are in the process of comparing it with the (bus) company’s list,” she added, as quoted by Xinhua news agency.

Quinonez said it would take time to identify the remains after bodies were burnt beyond recognition, report.

Injured survivors are being treated at local hospitals while the cause of the accident remains under investigation.

Local media claim the highway was closed following the collision, with photos of the scene showing both vehicles reduced to burnt-out metal frames.

Deadly road smashes are common in Mexico, often due to high speeds, poor vehicle conditions or driver fatigue.

It’s also claimed that crashes involving freight trucks have also increased on the country’s highways.

In August, at least 18 people including children died after a bus plunged 100ft into a ravine in the north bypass of the city of Tepic.

The bus was carrying dozens of passengers and their families between Mexico City and Tijuana when it left the road after the driver fell asleep.

Just one month earlier, at least 29 people were killed when another passenger bus careered off a road and plummeted 80ft into a ravine in the southern state of Oaxaca.

Tragic footage from the scene showed the mangled wreckage of the vehicle lying on its side at the bottom of a steep cliff as rescuers crowded in.