At least 20 dead after a fuel tanker collided with a packed tour bus in Mexico

At least 20 people have died after a packed tour bus collided with a fuel tanker truck on the Ciudad Victoria-Monterrey highway in Mexico.

The driver of the tanker truck fled the scene after the accident, which occurred in the early hours of the morning.

He was reportedly carrying varsol, a highly flammable liquid used in paint thinners.

Heartbreaking footage shows the bus shell by the roadside after being consumed by hell.

The tour bus was traveling on the Victoria-Monterrey highway in Mexico and witnesses said the vehicle turned into the lane of the tanker truck , Punto Informativo reported.

Then one of the containers carrying the liquid caught fire and the bus exploded.

The bus was carrying around 40 people when the tragedy occurred around 4 am.

The National Guard reported that the collision occurred in the early hours of this Saturday, at kilometer 67, due to the fact that a tank truck that was transporting 33,000 liters of fuel came off the truck and that it hit the truck, which caught fire.

It was reported that the bus had left Huejutla de Reyes, Hidalgo, on Friday afternoon, bound for Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.

Elements of the Mexican Army closed the road.