Bus runs off cliff in Peru, killing 19 and injuring 25

AFP/Getty Images

The scene in Huancavelica Peru, where a bus careened off a cliff, killing 19 and injuring 25.

17 adults and two children — ages 1 and 3 — were killed when the vehicle plunged some 260 feet of a steep hill in Huancavelica. One survivor reported that the driver, who lived through the crash, was speeding.

(SOURCE) 

At least 19 people were killed and 25 injured after a bus plunged more than 260 feet off a cliff in Peru.

Two children, ages 1 and 3, were among the dead, along with 17 adults after the bus careened down a steep hill in Huancavelica.

It happened about 152 miles southeast of Lima, the bus’s intended destination.

 The accident occurred at around 4:20 a.m on Sunday and video footage shows several locals rushing to the bus, putting it upright and pulling passengers from the wreck.

AFP/Getty Images

Some victims were airlifted to nearby hospitals. At least one witness said the driver had been speeding prior to the crash.

According to Correo, the condition of the 25 injured — many of whom had to be airlifted to a hospital — is not known.

The driver was among those injured.

The chaotic scene saw several bodies being carried away, with many more being laid on the ground covered in blankets along the hillside.

According to AFP, which cited RPP news radio, at least one survivor blamed the driver’s excessive speed up the narrow road as the cause of the crash.

Bus crashes are common in Peru, and according to a report by the government’s National Institute of Statistics and Information, 781 people died in Peruvian traffic accidents in the first few months of this year.