(Oaxaca) At least 27 people were killed and 17 others injured when a passenger bus fell into a ravine in Mexico, in a mountainous area of the state of Oaxaca (south), local police said on Wednesday .
“We confirm the deaths of 27 people, in addition to the 17 injured who were transported to various hospitals in the region for medical attention,” said Oaxaca State Attorney Bernardo Rodriguez Alamilla.
A previous toll reported 25 dead and 17 seriously injured, according to a local police chief who asked not to be identified.
Among the injured, at least six were unconscious when they were taken to hospital, according to civil protection.
The accident took place around 6:30 a.m. (8:30 a.m. Eastern Time), according to police and prosecutors’ reports. The bus belonging to a local transport company had left the previous evening from the capital Mexico City to the village of Santiago de Yosondua (1,500 inhabitants).
The accident took place in the territory of the locality of Magdalena Peñasco (approximately 3,500 inhabitants), one of the many communities isolated in the mountains served by local companies.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE MUNICIPAL POLICE OF TLAXIACO, VIA AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
“The preliminary toll is 25 people dead and 17 seriously injured,” said a local police chief who asked not to be identified as he is not authorized to speak to the media.
The prosecutor clarified that an investigation had been opened to determine the causes of the accident, initially favoring the track of “the mechanical fault”.
“The driver probably lost control” of the bus which “fell into the ravine more than 25 meters deep,” Oaxaca government security secretary Jesus Romero said at a press conference.
According to local media, the vehicle suffered a brake problem and went off the road at the end of a bend.
“We deeply regret the accident at Magdalena Penasco,” Oaxaca state governor Salomon Jara wrote in a social media post.
“Our government personnel are already on the ground, participating in the relief operations and providing all our support to the injured. We send a warm greeting and our condolences to the families of the deceased,” the governor added.
Police footage shows the top section of the bus completely destroyed, while rescuers dig through the rubble.
Oaxaca is a very tourist destination, a kind of Mexico in miniature with its beaches, its mountains, the traditions of the Zapotec and Mixtec communities, its capital Oaxaca – one of the most beautiful colonial cities in Mexico – and the pre-Hispanic site of Monte Alban.
Accident series
The state is also one of the poorest in the country, the cradle of many Mexican migrants who left for the United States.
Bus accidents have increased recently in Mexico, a country of nearly 2 million km2.
In May, 13 people traveling in a minibus died after a collision with a truck in the state of Tamaulipas (northeast), bordering the United States.
And on Wednesday, a pileup in the state of Queretaro (center) caused the fire of several vehicles, injuring eight, according to a preliminary report from the authorities.
Faced with these accidents, civil society organizations have called for tougher regulations, such as a ban on trucks to tow two trailers.