Mexico bus crash kills 13 after vehicle bursts into flames

Only a reserve driver and one passenger survived

Thirteen people have been killed in a bus crash in eastern Mexico, according to local authorities.

The bus, travelling from Mexico City and Villahermosa, rear-ended a truck carrying concrete structures, according to a state prosecutor.

Following the collision the bus burst into flames that killed 13 passengers inside.

Two people – a reserve driver and one passenger – survived the crash but sustained serious injuries and were taken to hospital, according to local media.

A video showing the charred metal skeleton of the vehicle after the flames were put out has emerged.

The cause of the crash is as yet unknown.

Mexico has one of the highest rates of traffic accidents in the world.

The country records about 4 million traffic accidents each year that kill some 24,000 people, according to the director of the Mexican Traffic Safety Research Center, Angel Martinez.

One study found that 30 per cent of accidents were caused by speeding and 20 per cent by alcohol, while failure to keep a large enough distance between cars another 20 per cent.