MONTERREY (Reuters/AFP) - At least 16 were killed and 30 injured in a collision between a freight train and a bus on a highway in the north of Mexico on Friday evening, an emergency official said.

The bus, ignoring the stop light at a railway crossing, was split in half by the oncoming train, said Mr Jorge Camacho, head of emergency services in Nuevo Leon state. "We have confirmed the death of 16 people and we believe there are more underneath the bus, so the death toll could reach 20," he said.

The collision happened when the bus was attempting to cross the rail tracks in the city of Anahuac, Mr Camacho told AFP.

The accident occurred just after 5pm local time at Camarones station, near the border with the United States.

Two children were among the 16 dead, said Mayor Desiderio Urteaga.

A local newspaper said the bus appeared to have been carrying some 60 people, when it only had seating for 40.