OCHO RIOS, St. Ann:

The police in St. Ann have confirmed that at leastfive persons lost their lives in a motor vehicle crash yesterday afternoon on the St. Ann's Bay to Runaway Bay main road in the parish.

The accident, which took place in the vicinity of the Little River bridge, involved a passenger bus and a delivery truck.

The collision occurred shortly after 4:00 p.m. and involved a passenger bus which was transporting students and other travellers from Brown's Town to Ocho Rios.

An unconfirmed number of people have been admitted to the St. Ann's Bay hospital suffering from various injuries.

Student dead

Constabulary Communication Network liaison officer for St. Ann, Cpl. Stacey Hawkins, said the police can confirm five persons dead - one male and four females. One of the dead is said to be a student of the Brown's Town Community College.

Corporal Hawkins said the police were not willing to release the names of the victims until family members were contacted.

The police said the truck was travelling towards Runaway Bay when a car attempted to overtake. The truck driver swerved to the left to avoid an accident, lost control and collided with the bus, which was travelling from Runaway Bay.

At least three persons died on the spot and the others were pronounced dead at hospital.