CNN
November 19, 2001

Bus plunges into ravine, killing 24 people in Peru

 
                 LIMA, Peru (AP) -- A bus plunged from a mountain highway into a 600-foot
                 (200-meter) ravine, killing 24 people and injuring 17 others, police said.

                 The accident occurred Sunday in the rural area of Angash in Peru's central Andes,
                 about 110 miles (180 kilometers) northeast of the capital, Lima. Initial radio reports
                 said 25 died and 20 were injured.

                 A mechanical failure apparently caused the driver to lose control of the bus, police
                 said.

                 The bus was heading from the provincial capital of Cerro de Pasco and was just
                 four miles (six kilometers) from reaching its destination when it crashed, Peru's
                 leading radio station Radio programas reported.

                 Scores of people are killed in bus accidents each year in Peru due to inadequate
                 maintenance of older vehicles, winding mountain roads and a tendency among
                 drivers to use excessive speed.

                  Copyright 2001 The Associated Press.