Peru bus accident death toll rises to 48
A bus plunged over a seaside cliff in Peru on Tuesday, killing at least 48 people after a collision with a truck on a precarious stretch known as the "devil's curve," AFP news agency reports citing local officials.
The bus was travelling from Huacho, 130 kilometers (81 miles) north of the capital, to Lima with 55 passengers and two crew on board when it went off the road about midday.
It plunged 100 meters (330 feet) and landed upside down on rocks at the edge of the sea.
The incident "left at least 48 victims" dead, the statement posted on the Interior Ministry's website said, revising an earlier toll of 36.
Efforts to recover bodies from the overturned vehicle were suspended at nightfall because the tide had risen and reached the bus, the police said.
There were several survivors, although most on board the bus perished.
The accident took place on a coastal highway about 45 kilometers north of the capital Lima, said Colonel Dino Escudero, head of the police highway patrol division.
The Pasamayo highway on which the tragedy occurred is only used by trucks and buses, as cars travel a different route.
It is a dangerous sea-hugging road where fog is frequent and high humidity can make the roadway slippery.
The bus driver had a lot of experience and was working with an assistant, said Luis Martinez, a representative of Transportes San Martin de Porres, which owned the bus.
Martinez could not confirm whether the driver had been killed or injured, but added that the bus underwent a mechanical check before leaving Huacho.
More than 2,500 people died in traffic accidents in Peru in 2016, according to official figures.