At least 12 people died Friday when a bus crashed with a truck at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southeastern Mexico, the authorities said.

The accident, which happened in the early hours of Friday in the state of Oaxaca, also left 12 people injured, while three others survived unhurt, a Civil Protection spokesman told DPA.

The truck, which was carrying sand, veered into the bus' lane. The two vehicles crashed head-on and caught fire.

The bus had been travelling from Salina Cruz, in Oaxaca, to Coatzacolacos, in the state of Veracruz.