40 killed in Peru bus accident

Lima, Dec 25 : A passenger bus plunged into a steep ravine Thursday in a mountainous area of Peru, killing at least 40 and injuring 22, police said.

The National Police's highway protection director, General Enrique Medri, told RPP radio that eight of those injured in the accident on the Espinar-Santo Tomas highway, near the town of Velille in the Peruvian Andes, were in serious condition.

The bus was traveling from the Arequipe Region to the Santo Tomas district of Chumbivilcas province, in the Cusco Region, when the driver lost control of the vehicle, which plunged 100 meters down a ravine.

About 60 passengers were traveling on the bus, some of whom were standing, survivors told radio stations in Lima.

The injured were taken to medical facilities in Velille, Espinar and Santo Tomas, CPN Radio and RPP reported. Police, meanwhile, were continuing their attempt to recover bodies and rescue possible survivors from the crash site.

Heavy rain and snow had fallen in the area prior to the accident, leaving the highway in "very bad condition," a firefighters' spokesman told RPP.