BUENOS AIRES – At least 12 people died and 24 were injured in a bus accident in the eastern Argentine province of Santa Fe, officials told EFE.

The head-on crash of two vehicles occurred Friday morning on National Highway 33 between the towns of Perez and Zavalla, the Provincial Highway Authority reported.

According to officials, the cause of the accident is currently being investigated.

The bodies of the 12 fatalities have been removed from the vehicles involved, while the 24 injured, including several in serious condition, were taken to medical centers in the area.

Because of the tragedy, provincial Gov. Miguel Lifschitz declared a day of mourning throughout the region.

Friday’s accident came just a week after 19 people died and 22 were injured in another accident involving a bus, that one in the western province of Mendoza on the road to Chile.

The bus driver in that accident has been held in custody since the discovery that the passenger vehicle was speeding at 101 kph (60 mph) on a mountain road where the maximum permitted speed is 40 kph.