The death toll in the Free State horror crash between a truck and a bus stands at 10.

The crash took place in the early hours of Wednesday morning on the N6, approximately 15 km south of Reddersburg towards Smithfield.

Sipho Towa, District Manager for Free State EMS Control Center, said the crash involved a City to City bus with 37 passengers that collided with a truck. He said they were alerted to the scene at around 4 am.

By 11 am on Wednesday, Towa said the death toll remained at ten.

He said seven women and three men lost their lives.

"One was a minor."

Of the 27 surviving passengers, two had sustained critical injuries, while three had moderate injuries.

Towa said 22 people were slightly injured.

All the patients were transported to two different hospitals for the further care.

He said one lane has been opened for traffic.

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said a team of crash investigators was dispatched to Free State to probe the cause of the crash.

"The crash happened around 3 am when a truck and a bus collided about five kilometres from Reddersburg," said RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane.

"Information at this stage indicates that the bus was travelling on N6 from Reddersburg in the direction of Smithfield while the truck with two trailers was travelling in the opposite direction.

"The two vehicles collided in a side swipe type crash."

Zwane said the exact cause of the crash has not yet been determined.

"The RTMC sends condolences to the affected families and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured.

"We further urge all road users to exercise extreme caution when travelling in the early hours of the morning."

The RTMC said statistics showed that most crashes take place before dawn.

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