Santiago, Chile (CNN) -- At least 19 people died and 23 were injured in a Tuesday morning crash between a truck and a bus on a highway near Chile's capital, officials said.
Nine of the injured are in extremely critical condition, Health Minister Jaime Manalich said in a TV interview.
The accident occurred on the Autopista del Sol highway in Talagante, a city southeast of Santiago, the capital. Officials said a tour bus crashed with a cargo truck, and both vehicles fell into a ditch as a result of the impact.
The bus and truck drivers were among the dead, officials said.
Manalich asked Talagante residents to refrain from going to the emergency rooms of local hospitals if possible because the facilities are overrun with accident patients.