At least 23 people died in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck on the BR-373 highway in Brazil's southern state of Parana in the early hours of Wednesday, the Federal Highway Police said.
Five others were injured when the vehicles crashed around 3 a.m., police said. Most of those killed were on the bus, and the truck driver also died, the statement read.
Early evidence suggested the truck crossed into the opposite lane, it added.
The bus involved in the accident belonged to the Imbituva municipal health department and was heading to hospitals in the region of Parana's capital Curitiba, roughly 180 km (110 miles) away, police said.
Highway remains closed, no sign of opening
Imbituva, a city of about 30,000 people, declared two days of official mourning following the accident.
The highway remained closed with no estimate for when it would reopen, road operator Via Araucaria said in a post on X.
"Road completely blocked. Head-on collision between bus and truck... There is no estimated time for the road to be cleared."