Nineteen passengers of a bus were killed and another 58 injured when their vehicle crashed into a truck transporting beer in southern Sri Lanka on Tuesday along the same route taken by a South Asian car rally.

Police said most of the victims were burnt to death as they were unable to get out of the bus, which caught fire at Induruwa along the Galle Road this morning.

Fifty-eight wounded were admitted to the nearby Balapitiya hospital.

The crash occurred as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation car rally flagged off from Colombo this morning and headed in the same direction for a three-day race.

Officials said the road was cleared quickly for the rally to pass through.