Emergency services officials said a further 19 people were injured, with at least one person still trapped in a car in the wreckage, which is about two miles from the Mineirão stadium that has so far hosted five games.

Television footage has shown the front of a passenger bus crushed under the overpass, which was still under construction, as it fell onto traffic on the busy highway below.

The woman driving the commuter bus is among those believed to have died.

Fire brigade spokesman Edgard Estevo da Silva told reporters there is also a car crushed "completely under" the collapsed flyover.

The bridge road was part of the new infrastructure being put in place for the hosting of the World Cup, but work was not finished in time for the start of the tournament last month.

The Mineirão stadium in Belo Horizonte has so far hosted five of this year's FIFA World Cup matches ©Getty Images


The cause of the collapse has not yet been identified.

"We were travelling normally and then there was a terrible noise," Renata Soares, who said she was a passenger on the bus when the accident happened, told GloboNews TV.

"I am sure that more people in other cars were underneath the debris."

The Mineirão stadium is due to host a World Cup semi-final match next Tuesday (July 8) and the city is due to be used as a base for the Great British team competing at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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