MEXICO CITY — At least 21 people have been killed in a road accident in central Mexico, according to a local official.

The three-vehicle crash happened on the highway between Cuacnopalan and Oaxaca in Puebla state on Wednesday morning, said Samuel Aguilar Pala, a local government official.

Pala said 18 people died at the scene and another three died later in hospital.

Several others were injured and are receiving medical attention, he wrote on X.

According to local media, the crash involved a tanker truck, a bus and a van.

Mexican newspaper La Jornada reports that the crash took place when a cement truck attempted to overtake a van.

When crossing into the opposite lane, the truck hit a bus and then collided with a transport van head-on before tumbling into the ravine below and bursting into flames, La Jornada said.

Video shared by a local journalist on social media shows a large cloud of dark smoke rising from the ravine and a long portion of road railing torn away. This video has not been verified by the BBC.

There have been several severe accidents on highways in Mexico in recent years.

In February, dozens of people died in a bus crash in Tabasco in southern Mexico. — BBC