World News
At least 47 dead in Guatemala bus accident
by amyjudd | March 1, 2008 at 05:49 pm | 306 views | 3 comments
At least 47 people are dead in Guatemala after one of the worst accidents in this country in years.
Guatemala City – 47 people were killed and dozens were injured when a bus crashed down a ravine near the capital city, fire and rescue officials said Saturday. Forty people were killed directly on impact when the accident happened early Saturday morning, the other seven died in hospital.Vice President Rafael Espada called the accident a “tragedy” that pointed out the urgent need for an adequate hospital to serve this country of 13 million people in such disasters.
Source: earthtimes.org
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Comments (3)
I think this is an important story and would benefit from other NowPublic contributors working on it. I’ve flagged it as News Wanted and invite others in relevant locations to look for more evidence.
I know from personal experience the dire state that many of these buses are in and the roads they travel. Along with being overpacked with people and everything from farm animals to bags of wheat horrible accidents like this one are bound to and fairly frequently do occur.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7272292.stm
Guatemala bus crash kills dozens
At least 45 people have been killed in a bus crash in southern Guatemala.
The bus was travelling to the neighbouring country of El Salvador when it crashed on a dangerous corner near the city of Jutiapa.
Officials said at least 20 people were also hurt and more bodies may be trapped in the wreckage.
In October 2006, 42 people died when a passenger bus fell down a 100m ravine in the city of Chiantla, 137km north-west of Guatemala city.
Many buses are frequently overloaded and road conditions are often poor.
In the latest crash, reports say at least 65 people were on a bus designed to carry 40.