Thirteen people including at least nine women, one man and a local priest are reported to have been killed in a freak coach crash that happened at around 11 p.m. on Saturday night in Venta del Olivo, close to the town of Cieza in the south-eastern region of Murcia, Spain.

According to sources, more than 50 people were traveling in the coach, and the crash is the most severe incident the country has encountered since 2001.

One person died from their injuries on the way to hospital, and three more in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Regional media outlets reported that the driver had been injured in the crash, and had told emergency service workers that “the brakes had failed” causing the bus to fall down a 10-15 metre-high embankment.

One outlet reported that the husband of one of the casualties said his wife had told him before being rushed to hospital that the driver had shouted “I can’t brake, I can’t brake” several times.

The coach, belonging to Autocares Ruiz in the village of Calasparra, was on its way back from a trip to Madrid having been hired by a parish group from the nearby town of Bullas, which set up an emergency information centre for relatives and friends.

The Arrixaca Hospital in the regional capital Murcia told The Spain Report that two “very serious” casualties had been admitted, “and more are expected shortly”.

30 ambulances and all of the region’s hospitals were put on standby to deal with the casualties.