Bus falls into ravine, leaving 12 dead and 15 injured

This Tuesday (18), at least 12 people died and 15 were injured in an accident in Peru, where a bus fell into a ravine. The bus was on its way from the Yauya district to Lima.

What is known about the fall?

“We remain on site providing full support along with the police, health personnel and prosecutors”, said the mayor of the province of Fitzcarrald, Carlos Oyola, about what happened.

Those who survived were transferred to the Huaraz regional hospital and the causes of the accident are still being investigated.

It all happened on Tuesday afternoon, where the bus overturned, falling 100 meters into an abyss on a highway in Ancash. It is not known what caused the accident and investigations are ongoing.

Several accidents occur on the roads of Peru

These accidents are common and very frequent on Peruvian roads, usually due to speeding, poor road condition, lack of signage and also the lack of control by the authorities.

In January of this year, for example, a bus with 60 passengers fell into a cliff, killing at least 24 people. The bus was on a road that is difficult to drive, known as “Curva do Diabo”, where several passengers were thrown through the windows, while others were trapped inside the vehicle.

However, it is not new that things like this happen in Peru. In 2022, for example, four tourists died and 16 were injured when a van fell off a cliff in Peru. Already in 2020, the deaths of at least 16 passengers were announced in a fall that left 40 injured, with four Brazilians.

Looking further back, in 2009, 40 people died and eight more were injured in an accident very similar to this one, when a bus plunged into a ravine approximately 100 meters high, 1,100 kilometers southeast of Lima.

Featured photo: Bus down a cliff in Peru. Playback/BBC Gahuza