QUITO (AP) — A passenger bus plunged into a deep ravine in southern Ecuador on Friday and left at least four dead and 10 injured, although the number could increase because rescue efforts are still ongoing, the fire department reported. from the city of Cuenca.
The commander of that institution, Sixto Heras, told journalists that the emergency was reported around 08:30 (1330 GMT) in the sector of the bridge over the León River, 368 kilometers south of the capital.
Stalin Morejón, from the organization that coordinates relief efforts in Ecuador, told The Associated Press that the number of dead and injured is preliminary and may vary “when the troops who are working at the site send us consolidated reports and we can finally determine how many passengers were going and what is the final number of people affected.”
He stated that the vehicle had left the city of Loja bound for Cuenca, 300 kilometers south of Quito, but the accident occurred halfway along the route. The injured were evacuated to the nearest town, Oña, and the most seriously injured to the city of Cuenca.
Morejón highlighted that firefighters, police and Ministry of Health personnel, among others, attended the emergency, and added that the authorities plan to rule later on the possible causes of the accident.
The first images released by local media show the white vehicle at the bottom of a canyon, with the front part destroyed, without tires and turned on its side on the rock bed of the León River, which shows little flow.
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2024-04-13 20:09:15
