The bus set off a chain reaction involving multiple stopped vehicles after first slamming into a sports utility vehicle, authorities said.
Police said the driver of the bus had admitted falling asleep at the wheel before the crash near Luzon island’s Tarlac City.
“Per the initial interview by our investigators … the driver said he fell asleep and was woken up to the scene of crashed vehicles,” said Colonel Romel Santos of the Tarlac City police.
Four minors were among those killed in the accident, he said.
The crash happened as freeways were filled with families heading to and from Labour Day holidays.
Both the driver and conductor had been taken into custody, Santos said, with the former facing a potential charge of “reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicides.”
Investigators were still waiting at a local hospital for relatives to identify the victims taken there, he said.
The extent of injuries suffered by survivors was not yet known. (AFP)
