Fourteen people died and 26 were injured when a packed bus crashed in Japan in the early hours on Friday, the Japan Times reported. It was the worst toll from a bus accident in decades.

The bus was carrying 41 people bound for a ski resort when it plunged off the National Route 18, about 2 kilometers south of Karuizawa Station in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture.

Most of the passengers were young. Nine men and five women died, and most of the injured were teenagers and people in their early 20s, according to local police and firefighters.

Many of the passengers were not wearing seat belts, survivors said. They said no announcements were made to do so prior to departure.

Source: MENA