At least 25 people, including two children, died in a bus accident that fell into a ravine in the Andean region of Huancavelica in southern Peru, authorities announced Monday night in a revised upward figure.
An initial police report reported 20 dead and 35 injured, then a Ministry of Health press release later in the morning announced 24 dead. Finally, at the end of the day on Monday, the toll rose to “25 dead and 34 injured,” stated the Ministry of Defense.
The accident occurred on the night of Sunday to Monday, when the bus carrying more than 50 passengers from Huanta, in Ayacucho, to Huancayo, in the Junín Region, left the road.
13 dead in a previous accident in the same region
Footage shows the damaged bus lying on its side near a river below the ravine, with debris and personal items scattered everywhere.
The president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, expressed her “condolences to the families” from New York, where she will attend the 78th United Nations General Assembly. The Peruvian Episcopal Conference, for its part, urged the government to “carry out a serious investigation” to prevent accidents like this from being repeated.
On August 13, another accident in the same region left 13 dead and 5 seriously injured.
Road accidents are frequent in Peru due, in particular, to excessive speed and poor road maintenance, especially in the mountains.
Source: BFM TV
