At Least 36 Killed in Brazil Road Accident

At least 36 people were killed Saturday in a crash between a truck and bus carrying farm workers in Brazil's northeastern state of Bahia, highway police said.

A police spokeswoman told Agence France Presse that authorities were still investigating the cause of the accident, which also saw 13 people injured in the town of Milagres, 250 kilometers from the state capital Salvador.

The bus, which was operating illegally, was carrying sugar cane cutters from the central state of Mato Grosso to the northeastern state of Pernambuco when the crash occurred, she said.

Authorities said the accident occurred after midnight as one of the vehicles passed the other, but it was still unclear which caused the crash.

Witnesses told CBN radio that a third vehicle crashed head on with the bus, which then was hit by the truck.

Brazil has one of the world's highest road accident fatality rates -- 18.3 for every 100,000 inhabitants, according to the World Health Organization.