At least 10 people have died in a collision between a bus and a passenger train in central Slovakia.

The bus was attempting to cross a railway track near the ski resort of Polomka Bucnik at about 9am (0800GMT) on Saturday when the train crashed into it at full speed, police said.

"At the moment I can confirm 10 dead and 20 injured," Martin Strba, a fire services spokesman, said.

Martina Pavlikova, a spokeswoman for the Slovak Railways, said: "All the dead and injured were on the bus. There were only a few passengers on the train and they didn't suffer any serious injuries."

Three helicopters and nine ambulances took the injured to hospital.

Maria Faltaniova, a police spokeswoman, said: "According to preliminary information, there were 36 people on the bus."

Local media said that the bus was transporting tourists from the town of Banovce-nad-Bebravou to the ski resort.

It was also reported that the crossing had light signals and but no bars to stop vehicles from crossing.