At least 37 people killed in Peru when bus crashes into ravine

"At least 37 people have been killed in one of Peru's worst bus accidents in years when a bus driving through the mountains of the Arequipa region hit another vehicle and plunged about 200 metres (650ft). The bus was driving from a mining district towards the city of Arequipa about 12:30am [05:30 GMT] on Wednesday when it hit a pickup truck and drove off the highway, according to public broadcaster TV Peru."

"The bus was carrying at least 60 people at the time, and 36 were killed on impact, according to a local health official. One person later died at hospital, and 20 more passengers were injured. The truck driver tested positive for alcohol, according to TV Peru. Photos of the accident show the front of the pickup truck crumpled from the impact of what appears to be a head-on collision while the bus can be seen lying on its side and surrounded by debris."

At least 37 people died and 20 were injured when a bus collided with a pickup and plunged roughly 200 metres in the Arequipa region of Peru. The bus was traveling from a mining district toward the city of Arequipa around 12:30am when the collision occurred and the vehicle drove off the highway. The bus carried about 60 passengers; 36 were killed on impact and one died later in hospital. The pickup driver tested positive for alcohol. Photographs show severe vehicle damage and a bus lying on its side. Peru records high road-fatality rates and the same spot has hosted fatal crashes before; last year more than 3,000 traffic deaths were recorded nationwide and multiple deadly bus incidents occurred in recent months.

Read at www.aljazeera.com