At least eight people have been killed after the passenger bus in which they were travelling plunged off the road and down a gorge in a northern region of Mexico, said local authorities.
The tragic accident occurred at 4.25am on Sunday morning in the north-central state of San Luis Potosi, on the Mexico – Laredo federal highway, near the city of Ciudad Valles. Although the cause of the accident is not yet clear, reports from eye witnesses suggest that the driver apparently lost control of the bus while taking a turn, and plunged off the road, 30 meters down a gorge.
Local authorities have confirmed that at least eight people have died, and that the death toll may still rise further as more bodies are recovered from the accident scene. The victims have not yet been officially identified, but there are three men and five women amongst the dead. It is not yet clear how many people were on board the bus at the time of the incident, or how many people have been injured. Emergency responders treated the injured at the site of the accident and then transferred them to the nearby General Hospital of Ciudad Valles, where some passengers remain in a critical condition.
According to authorities, the bus, which was operated by the Transportes Frontera bus company, was was en route to Huejutla, Hidalgo from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon at the time of the accident. The driver was allegedly attempting to change the music on the bus when he lost control of the bus in the Mante Lagoon area. The bus driver survived the accident, and will be questioned by police once he recovers from his injuries.
In other bus accident news this week, at least 15 employees of a garment factory were injured in Bangalore, India after their mini bus crashed into a road divider near Chanapura gate on Saturday evening. The accident occurred at approximately 5.45 pm, when the workers were travelling home in the staff transport minibus. It is not clear what the cause of the accident was.
The bus hit into the divider and fell over onto its side on the busy Hosur Road, causing traffic to come to a standstill for several hours. Local police diverted traffic to alternative routes and the bus was lifted from the scene of the accident by a crane. The bus driver fled the scene following the accident, and police are conducting a man hunt for the man.