SAO PAULO >> 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 responded to the scene, said 13 others were taken to hospitals near the city of Teofilo Otoni. The bus had reportedly departed from Sao Paulo and was carrying 45 passengers. Authorities said Saturday afternoon that all victims had been removed from the site and an investigation would determine the cause of the accident.

Witnesses told rescue teams that the bus blew a tire, causing the driver to lose control and collide with a truck. Others said that a granite block hit the bus, the fire department added.

A car with three passengers also collided with the bus, but all three survived.

Gov. Romeu Zema wrote on X that he ordered “full mobilization” of the Minas Gerais government to assist the victims. “We are working to ensure that families of the victims are supported to face this tragedy in the most humane way possible, especially as it comes just before Christmas,” Zema said.

In 2024, more than 10,000 people died in traffic accidents in Brazil, according to the Ministry of Transportation.

In September, a bus carrying a football team flipped on a road and killed three people. The Coritiba Crocodiles, a team from the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, was headed to a game in Rio de Janeiro, where they were set to play in the country’s American football championship. The game was canceled following the deadly accident.