Guatemala bus crash claims more than 50 lives

KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 51 people have been killed after a passenger bus veered off the road and plunged into a polluted ravine in Guatemala, a media report said on Tuesday.

The incident took place on Monday morning, Reuters reported. The bus was travelling to the capital from the town of San Agustin Acasaguastlan.

The ill-fated vehicle fell approximately 20 metres from Puente Belice, a highway bridge that crosses over a road and creek, the report said.

Carlos Hernandez, a spokesperson for the Guatemalan city fire department, said the bodies of 36 men and 15 women had been sent to a provincial morgue set up for the accident.

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo declared three days of national mourning and deployed the army and disaster agency to assist response efforts.

Images shared by the fire department on social media showed the bus partially submerged in wastewater, surrounded by victims' bodies.

kk/mud