A packed bus collided with a truck and burst into flames in Brazil early this morning, killing at least 32 people, the fire service said.

About them 32 to 35 people died but “it is not yet possible to determine the exact number of dead due to the charred state of the bodies and they are not identifiable,” a fire department spokesman told AFP by phone, adding that a “definitive” casualty count will be announced after the investigation by the competent authorities.

At the same time, it will be necessary to carry out an investigation into the causes of the accident as there is conflicting information from eyewitnesses.

The fire service initially announced that the bus carrying 45 passengers had a flat tire causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle and crash into an oncoming tile truck at 4.00am. local time, on a main highway near the town of Teofilo Otoni in the state of Minas Gerais.

Also, the service said it rescued 13 passengers from the damaged bus. Three occupants of a car that was also involved in the collision and trapped under the truck survived.

Among the dead are the bus driver and at least one child.

However, eyewitnesses later said that according to the fire department, a large piece of granite fell from the truck onto the road and caused the collision with the bus.

“Only research will confirm the true version“, noted the fire department.

The bus had departed from Sao Paulo and was heading to the state of Bahia.