The death toll in a road accident in south Kazakhstan has risen to 20 people and another 28 persons have been injured, the republic's emergencies ministry reported on Sunday.

The accident occurred early on Saturday on an international highway between Almaty and Tashkent, near the village of Aspara in Kazakhstan's Zhambyl region after a truck collided with a passenger bus. Earlier reports said 13 people were killed and another 27 injured.

"As a result of the road accident, both drivers and 18 passengers have died," the emergencies ministry said.

The bus was carrying 51 passengers. Both vehicles caught on fire after the collision, the ministry said.

Six people have been hospitalized, including four citizens of Uzbekistan, the ministry said.

ASTANA, August 1 (RIA Novosti)