(BSS/AFP) - A bus overturned in a steep, mountainous region north of Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, killing at least eight people, firefighters said in a statement.

Local media reported another two victims had died after being transported from the scene, and said the dead included nine women and a young girl.

The Rio de Janeiro fire department said the accident had taken place early on Sunday near Petropolis, a mountain city north of Rio de Janeiro

"Firefighters had to perform excavation work to access and extricate some of the passengers. A total of 49 victims were recorded at the scene, eight of whom were deceased."

Deadly road accidents are frequent in Brazil.

In February, a bus returning from a religious festival in northeast Brazil veered off the road and overturned, killing at least 16 people.

In October last year 17 people died in northeast Brazil, in the state of Pernambuco, when a driver lost control of a bus.