Rio De Janeiro: At least 10 people were killed after a tourist bus overturned early Sunday near the city of Petropolis in Brazil's southeastern state of Rio de Janeiro, the state fire department said.

According to a fire department bulletin, the crash occurred at around 4:30 am local time as the bus, carrying dozens of tourists, was travelling down a mountainous road near Petropolis.

Firefighters found eight people dead when they arrived at the scene and took the injured to several nearby hospitals, where two more people later died of their injuries.

Petropolis Mayor Hingo Hammes said the city launched a large-scale rescue operation involving emergency medical teams, firefighters and the Federal Highway Police.

Brazil's Federal Highway Police said the bus had departed from Belo Horizonte, the capital of neighbouring Minas Gerais state, and was heading to beaches in the city of Rio de Janeiro.