At least 37 people were killed and 18 others seriously injured in a bus crash in Cameroon’s western village of Female, officials said.

The 70-seater bus was on its way to the capital, Yaounde, from the western town of Foumban when it crashed into a truck while trying to avoid a crowd of people on the road about 2 am local time (01:00 GMT) on Sunday, Absalom Monono Woloa, a senior government official in the area, said.

“Most of the travelers were either going to spend New Year’s Day with their families, returning from Christmas Day festivities or were business people supplying gifts for New Year’s feasts,” he said.

Village residents ran to the road to help more than 60 commuters who were on the bus, he said.

The death toll will likely rise as rescue workers dig through the wreckage, he said.