The overnight sleeper bus was travelling on a national highway from Hanoi to the central city of Da Nang when it veered off the road, hit the roadside markers and overturned, the government said in a statement.

The crash killed 10 people, including two children – all of them Vietnamese.

Another 12 people were injured and taken to hospital, the statement said.

Five of those killed were domestic tourists travelling to Da Nang for holidays, state media said.

“The bus overturned… I couldn’t sit up as my body and my hands were smashed into the side of the bed,” a passenger told the Dan Tri news site.

Several of those killed and seriously injured had been occupying the bunks towards the front of the bus and “suffered from the strong impact”, the passenger said.

Prime minister Pham Minh Chinh called for an investigation into the accident.

The crash comes a week after a boat capsized in the Unesco-recognised Ha Long Bay, killing 38 Vietnamese tourists and crew members.

Rescuers are still searching for one missing victim.

Only 10 passengers survived the country’s worst boat accident in the popular tourist destination.