Philippines bus crash kills 30

A bus packed with Christmas travellers has plunged into a ravine in the southern Philippines, killing at least 30 people and injuring dozens of others.

Police said the bus was on its way from the city of Cotobato to Davao on Mindanao Island, when it was involved in a collision with another bus.

Police said the other bus bumped it in the rear on a sharp hillside bend, sending it plunging off a 20-metre (60-foot) cliff.

The accident happened near the town of Bansalan, 960 km (600 miles) south of the capital Manila.

Police said the bus had a passenger capacity of 60 but was overcrowded, with many people standing in the aisle.

Rescue teams were still on the scene several hours after the crash and were cutting through the wreckage to recover bodies.

Buses and ferries are often overcrowded in the Philippines at Christmas, when many people go to visit their relatives.