PARIS - Five Portuguese nationals were killed and 27 others were injured when their bus crashed off a highway in the eastern French department of Saone-et-Loire early Sunday, local press reported.

The 40-seat bus was transporting Portuguese tourists to Switzerland when it crashed off the Central Europe Atlantic Road dubbed the "road of death," at around 4:30 am, Franceinfo reported.

The driver may have lost control of the van due to ice on the road. Nearly 83 firefighters have been sent to the scene of the accident, local authorities said.

There were no children among the victims as the bus carried only adults, they added.

It was the most deadly road accident in France since March last year when 12 Portuguese were killed in a van crash on the same motorway.