RIO DE JANEIRO, May 24 (Xinhua) -- At least eight people were killed early Sunday morning after a passenger bus collided with a truck on a federal highway in Brazil's southeastern state of Minas Gerais, according to the Federal Highway Police.

The crash occurred in the early hours on the highway BR-251. The bus, traveling from Sao Bernardo do Campo in Sao Paulo state to Aracaju in Sergipe state, struck the truck and subsequently exploded, according to a police statement.

Authorities have closed the affected section of the highway as investigators work to determine the cause of the collision. ■