At least 42 people are feared dead in a traffic accident involving a truck and bus in south-west France, the BBC reports.

The two vehicles are reported to have collided head-on near Libourne, in the Gironde region, east of Bordeaux.

A fire official told the Agence France Presse that the dead were mostly adult passengers on the bus. The lorry driver was also killed.

Both vehicles are said to have caught fire after the collision.

newspaper says the bus was carrying elderly people who were setting off on holiday, adding that there were just five survivors.