Twelve university students were killed and 21 injured in a collision between a bus and a truck in Brazil's southeastern state of Sao Paulo, authorities said Friday.

"We have woken up to the sad news of this tragedy in which 12 students died in a terrible bus and truck accident," state governor Tarcisio Freitas wrote in X. 

Sao Paulo Civil Defense officials said in a statement that 21 injured people were taken to the hospital and most of them were discharged after the accident on Thursday night. One of the injured was suffering from 'cranial trauma' and the other three have been admitted to hospital and their condition is stable.

Freitas said the students were returning home from Franca's private university when the accident happened.  In a statement by the state government, the truck driver has been charged with 'fleeing the scene, negligent homicide and negligent bodily harm'.