At least 38 people have been killed and more than 50 others injured in a collision between two buses in Peru, reports say.

The crash took place on the Panamerican Highway, one of Peru's busiest main roads, about 310 miles (500km) north of the capital, Lima.

Reports say the accident was a head-on crash which happened in the early hours of the morning.

Fatal coach crashes are said to be a weekly occurrence in Peru.

The buses were carrying 80 and 70 passengers respectively.

The local police chief said the high-speed impact meant rescuers had difficulty in extracting the dead and injured from the mangled metal.

The BBC's Dan Collyns in Lima says that the number of road deaths in Peru increased last year despite a government initiative to try to reduce them.

Earlier this year, Peru received a $150m World Bank Loan aimed at improving its trunk roads.