At least 24 dead in Peru bus crash

At least 24 people, most of them mine workers, were killed Wednesday when their bus plunged into a ravine in southern Peru, local police said.

Another 18 people were injured, according to a provisional toll given by a highway police official in the city of Arequipa, located 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of the capital Lima.

Police warned the toll may rise as more bodies could be trapped under the wreckage of the vehicle, which rescue personnel has so far failed to move.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known, police said.

According to reports, the public bus was privately operated by a company called Andares.

Arequipa, also known as the White City, is around 1,000km (620 miles) south of the capital Lima and is the second most populated city in Peru.

Most of those aboard the bus were mine workers headed from Orcopampa district to Arequipa, where they planned to take part in religious festivities leading up to Easter on Sunday.

The prosecutor Cahuana Leonardo arrived at the scene by the medical examiner to record the minutes of the 24 individual bodies.

Peru's National Police Chief of Emergency Unit in Arequipa, Commander Raul Acosta, said firefighters and civilians worked together to rescue the injured and recover the bodies.

Hugo Zea, Arequipa's Transportation Regional Director, told local television channel Canal N, that the bus has had a license to operate for three years and even had a GPS system. The cause of the accident has not been determined.

Reckless driving due to speeding or sleeplessness, as well as mechanical failures, are the main causes of accidents in Peru, where an estimated 3,500 people die each year in traffic accidents.

Wednesday 27 March 2013

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