At least seven people have died, including two minors, this Wednesday after falling by a ravine about 50 meters high a bus that transferred students from a school in the surroundings of the Peruvian city of Cuzco.
According to the information collected by the Peruvian state news agency, Andina, the incident has taken place around 4.00 hours (local time) near the town of Huacarpay.
Around thirty injured have been evacuated to hospitals in the area, while rescue teams continue to work to rescue some passengers who are still trapped.
The general manager of the Superintendence of Land Transportation of People, Cargo and Goods (Sutran), Jorge Beltrán, has pointed to speeding as a probable cause of the incident.
Thus, he has indicated in statements to the Canal N chain that minutes before the accident the bus was going 81 kilometers per hour, according to GPS data, while in the area the speed limit is 35 kilometers per hour.
Beltrán has said that the bus left a formal stop and has the necessary permits, although it would have collected more passengers during the route, as reported by the local newspaper ‘El Comercio’.
Finally, the commander of the National Police Fidel Gazaniga has detailed in statements to the RPP station that the students who were traveling on the bus were students of the Niño Jesús de Praga center in Ayaviri.
