48 die as bus plunges over cliff in Peru
A BUS plunged over a seaside cliff in Peru, killing at least 48 people after a collision with a truck on a precarious stretch known as the devil's curve.
The bus was travelling from Huacho, 130km north of the capital, to Lima on Tuesday with 55 passengers and two crew on board when it went off the road at about noon.
It plunged 100 metres and landed upside down on rocks at the edge of the sea.
At least 48 victims were dead, the statement posted on the Interior Ministry’s website said.
Efforts to recover bodies from the overturned vehicle were suspended at nightfall because the tide had risen and reached the bus, the police said.
A police helicopter winched some rescue workers to the wreck of the blue bus while others made the precarious journey down on foot with the assistance of ropes.
The navy sent a patrol boat to assist the rescuers trying to get everyone out before the tide came in.
There were several survivors, although most on board the bus perished.
“For us it is very painful to suffer an accident of this magnitude. My deep solidarity lies with the pain suffered by the relatives,” President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski wrote on Twitter.
Maria Elena Aguilar, director of Alcides Carrion Hospital in El Callao, said her facility received five patients with multiple injuries. Another survivor was taken to a different hospital. The accident took place on a coastal highway about 45km north of the capital Lima, highway patrol division head Colonel Dino Escudero said.
The Pasamayo highway on which the tragedy occurred is only used by trucks and buses, as cars travel a different route.
It is a dangerous, sea-hugging road where fog is frequent and humidity can make the road slippery.
The bus driver had a lot of experience and was working with an assistant, Luis Martinez, a representative of Transportes San Martin de Porres, which owned the bus, said.
Martinez could not confirm whether the driver had been killed or injured, but said the bus had undergone a mechanical check before leaving Huacho. –