Bus plunges into ravine in Bolivia – at least 30 dead, 15 injured

The wreckage of a passenger bus that fell into an abyss near the town of Yocalla, Bolivia

A passenger bus plunged into an 800m-deep abyss in southern Bolivia on Monday, killing at least 30 people and injuring 15, police and local media said.

The bodies of “at least 30” people have been recovered and taken to morgues after the accident near the town of Yocalla, police colonel Victor Benavides said.

The crash happened on a narrow two-way road between the cities of Potosi and Oruro, with the route running along a ravine nearly half a mile deep.

Local news outlet Unitel reported at least 15 people injured in the crash – including three children – had been transferred to hospital.

Several were in a serious condition.

It was not immediately clear how many people were on board the bus.

Authorities said their initial theory was the crash was caused by speeding, with the driver “unable” to control the bus, according to Benavides.

This is the most serious road crash reported in the South American country so far this year.

Nineteen people were killed when a bus careened off a road, also near Potosi, last month.

Bolivia’s winding mountain roads are notoriously deadly.

Road crashes kill an average of 1400 people every year in the country of about 12 million inhabitants, according to government data.

- Agence France-Presse