A man has been killed after a small car and a tour bus collided head-on near Kamloops, B.C.

The accident happened around 4 p.m. on the Trans-Canada Highway near the village of Chase.

RCMP Const. Brian Blaikie said a small black car was travelling west near the town of Chase in B.C.’s Shuswap region when it crossed into the oncoming lane and collided with the bus head-on.

The driver of the small car was “killed instantly” after crossing the centre line into the path of the bus, according to Chase RCMP.

At least 20 of the 60 bus passengers were sent to the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops with minor injuries, according to police. Three of the patients transported to hospital are in serious condition. More patients are being treated at the scene of the crash.

The bus driver was the most seriously injured survivor, RCMP said.

Chase Mayor Rick Berrigan said the winding, rock-faced stretch of highway is notorious for accidents, especially in the summer. The province announced earlier this year that it would expand the two-lane stretch of road into four lanes to improve safety in the area.

The expansion of the highway was already underway at the time of the accident.

The crash, which is the third to involve a tour bus in B.C.'s Interior in a year, closed the highway in both directions.

With files from The Canadian Press