20 dead in southern Mexico bus crash

The death toll has risen to 20 after a bus in Mexico crashed through a barrier of a bridge and plummeted into a ravine.

Mexican officials say 20 people died when a bus plunged off a bridge and fell into a deep gorge. (AAP)

Mexican officials say 20 people died when a bus plunged off a bridge and fell into a deep gorge.

The head of the civil defence office in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz says the accident killed 20 of the 25 people on board.

Yolanda Gutierrez said the bus was apparently carrying members of a soccer team when it skidded off the bridge on Sunday near the city of Cordoba.

The Veracruz state government says the bus was likely speeding and the driver lost control when it went over a speed bump.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto expressed his condolences to the victims' families in his Twitter account.

It was unclear if the driver survived.

There was no immediate information on the condition of the injured.