At least 15 people have died and dozens more injured after a bus carrying university students collided with a minivan in northern Malaysia early Monday (June 9), according to local rescue services.

The crash occurred around 1:00 am local time (1700 GMT Sunday) on the East-West Highway near the town of Gerik in Perak state, close to the Thailand border.

Thirteen people were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others succumbed to their injuries in hospital. Another 31 individuals were injured, several of them seriously.

"The bus overturned and the minivan slid into a ditch," the Perak State Disaster Management Committee said in a statement. “Some victims managed to escape on their own, while others were thrown from the vehicle or remained trapped inside.”

The bus was transporting students from Sultan Idris Education University, located north of Kuala Lumpur, at the time of the collision.

Emergency responders used hydraulic cutting tools to extricate passengers from the wreckage, officials said.

Malaysia has one of the highest road fatality rates in Southeast Asia. According to The Star newspaper, an average of one person dies every two hours on Malaysian roads.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.

SMS/