In Peru At least 25 dead as bus plunges over cliff

At least 25 people were killed in Peru Tuesday when their bus plunged around 100 meters (330 feet) over a cliff after colliding with a truck, police said.

The accident took place on a coastal highway around 45 kilometers (25 miles) north of the capital Lima, said Colonel Dino Escudero, head of the police’s highway patrol division.

“At least 25 people are dead and around five are injured among those found so far,” Escudero said.

“The police and firefighters are working to rescue the victims of the crash, but we believe the death toll could rise,” he said.

The bus was travelling from Huacho, 130 kilometers north of the capital, to Lima with 53 passengers on board.

Its overturned wreckage was seen partly submerged in the sea after plunging over the cliff.

The spot where the accident occurred is known as the “devil’s curve.”

A helicopter was winching some of the rescue workers down to the wreck of the bus while others were walking down to the spot with the assistance of ropes.

Earlier this year, 15 people were killed in a bus crash in Yauya district, in a remote area of central Peru. That accident occurred during conditions of heavy rain and poor visibility.

Traffic accidents are common and often deadly in this country of 30 million, which rises from coastal desert to the towering Andes and encompasses tropical Amazon basin lowlands.

In 2016, 493 people were killed in 3,876 traffic accidents, highway police said.