Vietnamese pilgrim bus crashes in Texas, at least 12 dead

A bus chartered by Vietnamese pilgrims crashed in Texas, killing at least 12 people and injuring 26 more, local media reported.

A bus chartered by Vietnamese pilgrims crashed in Texas on Friday killing at least 12 people and injuring 26 more, local media reported.

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The bus, carrying 55 people, drove off a major highway overpass bridge and crashed below near the town of Tyler, some 96 kilometers (60 miles) north of Dallas.

"We are being told that a tire on the bus had blown," Sherman police spokesman Robert Fair told CNN. "We shall continue our investigation to see if other factors were involved."

The accident took place around 12:45 am on Friday (0545 GMT), the Sherman Herald-Democrat reported.

Dozens of injured passengers were being transported by helicopter to nearby hospitals, Fair told CNN.

The Dallas Morning News, quoting local TV, said the group was from the Vietnamese Martyrs Church of Houston on their way to the city of Carthage, in Missouri.