SOFIA, Bulgaria — At least 45 people died when a bus caught fire and crashed on a highway in western Bulgaria on Tuesday, officials said.

The bus had been carrying 52 people, including 12 children, when it swerved through the guardrail on a highway near the village of Bosnek, in western Bulgaria, around 2 a.m.

local time, according to the Bulgarian Interior Ministry.

The injured are in good condition and will be transported to Skopje when they have fully recovered, according to hospital officials.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev of North Macedonia visited the hospital on Tuesday.

Zaev said of the victims, adding that he had spoken to one of the injured who had managed to break a window of the bus and help several people escape.