Washington : At least 23 people have been killed and 32 injured after a bus plunged into a river in the Andes Mountains in south-eastern Peru.
The passengers were travelling from Puerto Maldonado city on Thursday to Cusco city, some of whom were on their way to vote in Peru’s presidential election on Sunday.
“The bus ended up nearly completely submerged in the river. That made the rescue brigade’s work difficult,” abc.net.au quoted police spokesman Linio Sanchez Urcos town as saying.
The bus had rushed into the Mapacho River in a sparsely populated rural area.
The injured were immediately rushed to hospitals in Cusco and a nearby town.
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that it has been advised that no Australians were involved in the accident.
Fatal road accidents are common in Peru, in part because of the negligent lax traffic enforcement and also of the Andean country’s challenging mountain terrain.(ANI)