The Ugandan police say 20 people have been killed after a passenger bus crashed into a tea estate off a highway in Fort Portal in western Uganda.

Police said at least seven of the victims in the Wednesday morning accident are minors who were traveling on the bus.

There was no immediate information on what caused the accident, among the deadliest in Uganda in recent years. However, the local residents report that the driver failed to negotiate a sharp corner yet he was over-speeding leading to a crash of the vehicle.

The bus was traveling from Bundibugyo to the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

Photos from the scene shared on social media showed responders trying to rescue survivors from the mangled wreckage.

Deadly motor accidents are frequent in Uganda, where roads and highways are narrow and often littered with potholes. Head-on collisions involving heavy vehicles are common.