SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, Oct. 10 (Xinhua/Sun) -- Twenty-three people were killed and about 40 others injured Friday when a bus crashed in Haiti, according to Haitian authorities.

The bus tipped and fell 15 meters down into a valley around 10 a.m. (1500 GMT) near Saint-Michel, some 50 km north of capital Port-au-Prince, said the authorities.

The bus was heading to the capital city with a blend cargo of passengers and charcoal and the driver lost control as a result of brake failure.

Ramonde Jourdain, director of Civil Protection of the Central Department, said 18 bodies were found at the scene of the accident, and five others died later in hospital.

Other passengers were in shock, said Jourdain.

The accident took place one month after a similar crash killed the same number of people in western Haiti .