A bus carrying school students on a ski holiday ran off the road and overturned in central Sweden yesterday, killing three people and leaving five with serious injuries.
Most of the passengers were pupils from a secondary school in Skene, southwestern Sweden.
Seven of the 59 people onboard the bus were adults, including the driver who was not seriously injured.
Lisbeth Gibson, head of healthcare services in the region of Jamtland-Harjedalen, told reporters that a total of 23 people were in hospital in Ostersund and four other locations.
Police have not released details of the deceased, explaining that not all next of kin have been contacted.
In Skene, flags flew at half-mast and local authorities activated crisis management plans, Swedish Radio reported.
Police were investigating the crash, a police spokesman in Ostersund said.
He said the chartered double-decker bus has been transported from the scene and was to undergo a technical inspection.
No other vehicle was involved in the accident that took place about 20km south of Sveg on the E45 highway.
The bus, which had been inspected last year, left Skene on Saturday evening and many onboard were asleep at the time of the crash yesterday morning.
Three helicopters and 15 ambulances were deployed in efforts to ferry the injured to various hospitals in Ostersund and Sveg as well as further afield.
Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and other prominent politicians issued their condolences.
The Swedish Transport Authority was also part of the investigation.