At least 16 people have died in a bus accident in Peru

Authorities said at least 16 people were killed in Peru on Tuesday when a bus fell off a ledge in the mountainous Ayacucho region.

The bus was carrying more than 40 passengers high into the Andes, where such tragedies are not uncommon.

Ayacucho official Wiber Vega told reporters that 13 bodies had already been recovered and three others had not yet been recovered from under the bus. “Yes, we have 16 dead,” he said.

Bad weather, including falling hail, delayed the recovery of the remaining bodies, Vega added.

The accident occurred early Tuesday as the bus was traveling on a zigzag section of the Libertadores highway from Lima to the town of Ayacucho, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

The bus overturned, rolled down a slope and landed upside down.

Such accidents occur frequently in Peru, partly because drivers drive too fast on poorly maintained roads.

On April 30, at least 25 people died after a bus plunged into a ravine in the Cajamarca region.

According to the Ministry of Transport, Peru recorded a total of 3,138 deaths from traffic accidents in 2023.

According to official data, seventy percent of accidents are due to human factors such as driver incompetence or fatigue.

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