19 dead, 20 injured in pilgrimage bus crash

Nineteen people died and 20 more were injured after a bus apparently carrying pilgrims to a religious site in central Mexico crashed on Friday.

Ricardo de la Cruz, an assistant interior secretary in the State of Mexico, said the accident occurred in the township of Joquicingo, southwest of Mexico City.

The bus was heading from the western state of Michoacan to Chalma, a town that has been visited by Roman Catholic pilgrims for centuries.

There was no immediate information on the condition of the injured passengers. Many Mexicans go on religious pilgrimages as Dec. 12, the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, approaches.