At least 16 people were killed and 42 injured in a major traffic accident some 50 km from the Colombian capital Bogota, the country's Caracol TV said on Monday.

A tourist bus en route from Bogota to the town of Chinauta suddenly swerved and hit an intercity minibus carrying 10 passengers from the country's south on Sunday. The bus later turned over and hit a car with Ecuadorian plates, which was moving on the oncoming lane.

"Two women in the car, 13 tourists and the bus driver died, 42 people were hospitalized with various injures," the deputy chief of the country's road police, Jaime Moreno, said.

Preliminary investigation revealed the deadly accident had been caused by a brake failure.

According to official statistics, over 5,000 people die in traffic accidents in the South American country each year.

BUENOS AIRES, March 22 (RIA Novosti)