HANOI, June 7 (Xinhua) -- A traffic accident early Sunday morning in central Vietnam's Lam Dong province left 19 people injured, local media VnExpress reported.

The incident occurred at about 3 a.m. when a sleeper bus crashed into the rear of a container truck traveling in the same direction, the report said.

Three people seated at the front of the bus, including the driver, the driver's assistant and a passenger, were seriously injured, while the others suffered minor injuries.

The collision severely damaged the front of the sleeper bus, according to the report.

Initial investigation showed that the accident was caused by the driver's failure to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle ahead. ■