PERU - At least 37 people were killed and 24 injured in southern Peru on Wednesday when a double-decker bus plunged into a ravine after colliding with a pickup truck, officials said.
The accident in Arequipa is one of the worst in recent years in the South American nation, where road fatalities are frequent. It occurred at dawn along a stretch of the Panamericana Sur highway that connects Peru with Chile. "We have a figure of 37 fatalities...in addition to 24 injured," Walther Oporto, the regional health manager of Arequipa, told AFP. The death toll could rise as some people were seriously injured in the crash, he said by telephone. The double-decker bus, operated by the Llamosas company, had departed on Tuesday night from Chala, a town in Caraveli province, and was headed for Arequipa, Peru's second-largest city. It was carrying more than 60 passengers, including children and elderly people. The vehicle fell into a ravine approximately 200 meters (650 feet) deep after colliding head-on with the pickup on a bend, according to local media reports citing firefighters. The bus rolled down the ravine and ended up on a riverbank. (Bssnews)
