A bus carrying university students back from a fireworks festival has crashed in north-east Spain, killing 14 passengers and injuring 30 of its more than 50 occupants.

Jordi Jane, a spokesman for the Catalonia province, said emergency rescue workers were still working to clear the wreckage that straddled the AP7 highway's central fence.

A regional government statement said the bus crashed early on Sunday on the highway that links Spain with France along the Mediterranean coast near Freginals, halfway between Valencia and Barcelona.

Mr Jane said the students - part of the Erasmus exchange programme - had travelled to Valencia to take part in the renowned Fallas fireworks festival and were returning when the bus crashed.

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