At least eight Czech tourists were killed and 44 injured when a bus crashed and overturned on a major highway in Croatia on Saturday, police said.

The accident happened around 4 a.m. about 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Zagreb, on a highway connecting the Croatian capital with the central Adriatic coastal city of Split, according to a police statement.

Croatia's state TV said the bus crashed through metal barriers in the middle of the highway, and overturned in the opposite lane near a tunnel.

State TV quoted eyewitnesses as saying the bus started "swaying" moments before the crash, suggesting the driver apparently lost control after he fell asleep.

Photos from the scene showed the bus's twisted metal remains on its side, with seven dead passengers — covered with white sheets — lying on the pavement. State TV said a child was among the dead and the eighth fatality was discovered in the wreckage.