San Francisco - A planned night out at the Casino turned into deadly mayhem when a bus packed with gamblers crashed on a rural California road Sunday night, killing 10 and injuring dozens more, police said Monday.

The crash occurred near the small town of Williams, about 180 kilometres north of San Francisco after the bus veered off the narrow road and then completely flipped over as it overcorrected.

Television pictures from the scene showed the mud-covered bus ended up back on its wheels, with its windows smashed and sides and roof mangled. Police said that some of the victims were thrown from the bus as it rolled over. Rescue officers spent hours searching through tall grass through the night trying to locate the victims. (dpa)