Thirty-seven people were killed and several others injured when a bus collided with a lorry in central Mali during heavy rain on Tuesday, the government and local officials said.

Road accidents are a regular occurrence in the former French colony, where the poor state of the motorways has been a source of social tension.

The government said on its official Twitter feed that 37 people were killed "and others seriously injured".

It added: "This a preliminary toll after a road accident at Zambougou," without detailing the circumstances of the accident.

Alassane Traore, the governor of the central Segou region which includes Zambougou, said that a passenger bus had collided with a lorry carrying agricultural produce.

"It is the consequence of driving in the rain," he said.

A crash survivor said that "visibility was poor and the road was wet because of the heavy rain", adding the truck failed to brake in time.

Travelling by road is still the principal means of transport for people and goods in the landlocked Sahel nation of some 20 million people.