Rabat, April 10 (IANS): At least 31 people were killed and nine injured in a road accident in Morocco on Friday morning, media reported.

The accident occurred at 7 am when a bus collided head-on with a semi-trailer in the commune of Chbika in the southern Moroccan province of Tan-Tan, Moroccan news agency MAP reported citing provincial authorities.

The nine injured are in serious condition, and have been admitted to Hassan II Hospital in Tan-Tan.

Most of the victims were young athletes between 12 and 14 years of age, who perished tragically with the bus left completely charred, Tan-Tan officials told Spanish news agency Efe.

The bus left Rabat for the city of Laayoune in the Western Sahara where the children were competing in a national sporting event, according to the alyaoum24 Arabic website.

Medicos told Efe that the death toll may be as high as 40, although no official statement has corroborated the figure.

It is unclear what caused the collision between the bus and the semi-trailer truck, which apparently had flammable cargo.