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2024-07-19 16:35:07
At least 26 people were killed and 14 others hospitalized after a serious accident involving a bus that fell off a ledge and rolled into an abyss in southern Peru on Tuesday.
The passenger transport vehicle left Lima with more than 40 occupants and fell off a cliff about 200 meters high when it was heading towards the Andean region of Ayacucho, according to police reports.
“We have (…) in the latest report 26 people dead and 14 injured in the accident,” Colonel Jhonny Valderrama, head of the police’s Highway Protection Division, told AFP.
The two drivers of the vehicle are among the injured, according to the Ayacucho Hospital, where most of the victims were taken.
Police and fire brigades responded to the emergency despite the difficult access to the area and poor visibility due to fog.
“This geographical area of Ayacucho is very difficult for rescue efforts,” Colonel Valderrama commented earlier.
Police have not yet commented on the probable cause of the accident. Authorities had initially reported 21 dead. The death toll was later updated to 26.
“We don’t know if my brother (Oscar) is in the hospital or dead. All the roads are full of potholes, the government doesn’t do any maintenance,” complained Juan Ayquipa in statements to RPP radio.
In May, 17 bus passengers died on the same cliff-lined highway that connects the coast to Peru’s southern Andes.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the vehicle that crashed on Tuesday passed through two checkpoints and was authorized to transport passengers.
“It has already been verified that the vehicle had undergone technical inspection; it had mandatory traffic accident insurance (…), everything was valid, but an investigation will have to be carried out to determine what caused the accident,” Minister Raúl Pérez told the press.
The official also expressed his condolences to the families who “have lost their loved ones in a tragic accident.”
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