Florida bus crash kills eight

File picture [for illustration]

Eight people were killed and eight critically injured when a bus carrying labourers collided with a pickup truck, then overturned in northern Florida on Tuesday.

The workers were headed to pick melons at Cannon Farms in Dunnellon, a small farming community in Marion County, when their bus overturned at about 8:30 am EDT (1230 GMT) on West State Road 40, the Ocala Star Banner reported, citing Florida Highway Patrol and Marion County Fire Rescue officials.

A total of 53 people were on the bus. The other 37 passengers were transported to hospitals for minor injuries, said James Lucas, the public information officer for Marion County Fire Rescue.

The 2010 International Bus sideswiped a 2001 Ford Ranger pickup truck, sending it off the roadway, then crashed through a fence before overturning, Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson Steve Gaskins said in a statement.

More from International

  • Duterte takes responsibility for Philippines drug war

    Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he takes full responsibility for his administration's "war on drugs", in a video message posted on his Facebook account, as he braces for a legal battle at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

  • Arab states and US discuss Gaza reconstruction plan

    Officials from the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine agreed to continue consultations on their Gaza reconstruction plan with US Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, it was announced after a meeting in Qatar on Wednesday.

  • Putin visits Kursk region for first time since Ukrainian incursion

    Russian President Vladimir Putin donned military fatigues for a surprise visit to troops in Russia's western Kursk region on Wednesday, where he ordered them to press their lightning advance and swiftly retake the rest of the area from Ukrainian forces.

  • NASA, SpaceX delay flight that was to retrieve stuck astronauts

    NASA and SpaceX have delayed the launch of a replacement crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station that would have set in motion the long-awaited homecoming of US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.

  • Pakistan military ends standoff with train hijackers

    Pakistan's military said it had ended a standoff on Wednesday with separatist fighters who had hijacked a passenger train in the country's southwestern Balochistan province and taken hundreds of people hostage.