BRATISLAVA, Oct 3, 2008 (AFP) - At least four people died and 18 were injured Friday in a bus crash in western Slovakia near the Czech border, the national news agency SITA said, quoting the fire service.

The accident occurred near the frontier town of Chocholna-Velcice, it said. Three of the victims died immediately and the four succumbed to injuries in hospital.

The country is still reeling under the shock of a September 7 crash, the most tragic road accident yet involving Slovak travellers, when 14 nationals died and 30 others were wounded in nearby Croatia.