Over a dozen people were killed on Thursday while traveling in an overcrowded bus in Peru’s Andes Mountains. There are conflicting reports regarding the number of injured and dead. The Associated Press says 15 people have been killed and 58 injured. Fox News is reporting 11 dead and 35 were injured when the bus crashed 98-feet to the bottom of a ravine in the Cajacay district on the road connecting the cities of Huaraz and Pativilca. By Thursday night police and other authorities were still recovering bodies.
The accident took place before noon on Thursday. The health director of the Ancash province spoke with the Associated Press saying that among the dead was a one-year-old child. The survivors were taken to several different hospitals in Barranca, Huaraz, and Cajacay their injuries range from minor to serious. Major bus accidents such as the one that occurred on Thursday are a common problem in Peru. In October 2013 a bus carrying 51 people including several children went off a cliff killing everyone on board.
In March 2013 a bus travelling in southern Peru went off a cliff leaving 14 people dead. In Peru the high altitudes and sharp turns make road dangerous. Overcrowded buses travelling at high speeds can become death traps in a matter of moments. The traffic laws in these mountainous regions are rarely enforced. Figures released by the Peruvian government say that between September 2008 and December 2012 5,435 people were killed and 13,520 people were injured in bus crashes. The government says the main cause of these accidents are recklessness, sleepiness, speed, and alcohol use by the driver.
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