A bus carrying more than 70 people veered off a highway bridge into a polluted ravine in Guatemala City on Monday, killing at least 51 people, officials said.
The bodies of 36 men and 15 women were sent to a provincial morgue, said Carlos Hernandez, a spokesman for the city’s fire department.
Rescuers were able to pull 10 injured people from the bus, several of them were taken to the hospital.
What do we know about the accident?
The bus plunged about 20 meters (65 feet) off the Puente de Belice bridge at the northern entrance to Guatemala‘s capital. This highway bridge crosses a road and a creek contaminated with sewage.
According to the fire department, the driver lost control of the bus and collided with a number of smaller vehicles before going over the edge of the precipice.
“The bus kept going, broke through a metal railing, and fell into a ravine about 20 meters (65 feet) deep until it reached the sewage-contaminated river,” Hernandez said.
Images shared by the fire department on social media showed the bus partially submerged in wastewater, surrounded by the bodies of victims.
An initial investigation showed that the bus was 30 years old but still had a license to operate, Communications Minister Miguel Angel Diaz said.
He said investigators were looking into whether the bus was overloaded with passengers and that the cause of the early morning accident was still unknown.
President declares days of national mourning
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo has declared three days of national mourning after the incident.
He also deployed the country’s army and disaster agency to assist in the response.
“I stand in solidarity with the families of the victims who today woke up to heartbreaking news. Their pain is my pain,” Arevalo said on social media.
According to local media, the bus was on its way to Guatemala City from the town of San Agustin Acasaguastlan in the department of El Progreso, about 90 kilometers to the northeast.
Edited by: Wesley Rahn
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