Five people died and 23 were injured early on Tuesday (June 21) when a Slovak bus swerved off the road in southern Serbia, the Interior Ministry said.

All injured were being treated in hospitals in the towns of Aleksinac and Nis, about 200 km (120 miles) south of Belgrade, a statement said.

The Slovak foreign ministry said the bus was taking holiday goers home from the Greek island of Corfu.

TV footage from the scene of the accident showed Serbian rescue workers carrying a stretcher with what appeared to be a body covered with white sheet. A recovery vehicle was positioned in one lane of the highway, while workers were attaching cables to tow the damaged bus away.

The Dennik N report said the bus was carrying 29 passengers and two drivers, including 12 Czech citizens and some Hungarians. All victims were Slovaks, it said.

Slovakia's Interior Ministry said it was ready to send a government plane to Serbia later in the day to bring home those uninjured and another one on Wednesday to evacuate those with more serious injuries.

The Serbian police statement gave no further details about the crash, saying only it happened when a bus with Slovak registration plates swerved off the highway linking Serbia with Macedonia and Greece.