Car slams into bus: 24 dead

A car slammed into a bus near Mexico's Gulf coast, causing a fiery crash that left 24 people dead and another 10 injured, authorities said Monday.

Civil defense authorities in Veracruz said the compact car and the bus collided on a highway in the neighboring state of Puebla. Two people died in the car, and 22 aboard the bus as the vehicle was consumed by flames.

The bus had set out from the Veracruz city of Poza Rica on Sunday.  Apparently many of the passengers were students, but authorities were still working to identify the dead.

The state civil defense office said the car apparently struck the bus' doors, preventing the occupants from getting out. Flames consumed the bus, leaving it a burnt-out hulk.

About 10 passengers got out through the bus' windows. Ten people were injured in the crash, apparently all of those who got out.

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