A packed bus collided with a truck and burst into flames early on December 21 in Brazil, killing more than 30 people, the fire department said.After removing all of the victims from a major highway near the town of Teofilo Otoni in Minas Gerais, the state's fire department reported that of the 45 people on the bus, 38, including the bus driver, had been confirmed dead.The other passengers remained in critical condition after being transported to a local hospital.The truck driver fled the scene, and three occupants of a car that collided with the truck and became trapped underneath survived the accident, said the fire department.A forensic investigation will be required to determine the cause of the accident, with differing accounts from witness testimonies, said the local fire department.Initially, firefighters reported the bus had a tire blowout, causing the driver to lose control before colliding at around 4 a.m. local time, with an oncoming truck on the BR-116 federal highway, a major route connecting Brazil's densely populated southeast to the poorer northeast.However, witnesses also reported that a granite block the truck was transporting came loose, fell on the road and caused the collision with the bus, the fire department said. n18oc_world n18oc_crux
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