A collision between a passenger bus and a trailer truck in eastern Guatemala early Saturday claimed at least 20 lives, injuring dozens. Nine among those dead were children, national disaster agency, said.

The Pullman bus was ferrying passengers to the city of Santa Elena, near the Guatemala-Mexico border and the accident occurred near the town of Gualan, close to Guatemala’s Atlantic coast.

Volunteer firefighters, who attended the scene, told reporters that the bus was hit from behind. The collision savaged the rear section of the bus and the truck leaned onto its side smashing it into a curve of the two-lane highway.

The drivers of both vehicles are alive and being questioned. It was said in the initial reports that the truck was speeding which might have led up to the tragic incident.

Authorities were able to identify only 18 victims and the rest were difficult to recognize owing to the impact of the crash, UPI reported.

Alejandro Giammattei, the Guatemalan president-elect, expressed his “profound lament” for those who lost their lives.

“All Guatemalans have woken up in mourning, I deeply regret the death of the people in the Gualan accident,” he said in a tweeted statement.

In March, at least 18 homeless people living at the roadside were crushed to death by a speeding truck driver in Nahuala, Guatemala. They were goggling at a crash victim when the driver mowed them down too. The truck was apparently hurrying excessively and "went out of control,” as a result, according to the head of traffic police in nearby Guatemala City.

bus crash
In this image, police stand near the wreckage of a school bus on Interstate 80 following an accident with a dump truck in Mount Olive Township, New Jersey, May 17, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar
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