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Guatemala bus crash: Dozens killed and injured | |
(about 7 hours later) | |
At least 43 people have been killed after a bus plunged 200m (660ft) into a ravine in western Guatemala, rescue workers said. | |
The crash happened in San Martin Jilotepeque, some 65km (40 miles) from the capital, Guatemala City. | |
At least 40 people are thought to have been injured in the accident. | |
The bus had been travelling from Chimaltenango to San Martin Jilotepeque. The cause of the crash remains unknown. | |
Mario Cruz, spokesman for the local volunteer fire department, said about 90 people had been on board the bus which had an official capacity of 54 passengers. | |
The dead included at least three babies, he added. | |
The mayor of San Martin Jilotepeque, Otto Vielman, said it appeared that the bus had crashed against a wall of rocks and then fallen from a cliff. | |
The rescue operation was hampered by a fast-flowing river and emergency crews installed cables to carry stretchers over the water. The long arm of a mechanical digger was also used to lift people across the river. | |
Local residents volunteered to help the rescue operation and pictures from the scene showed some onlookers in tears as bodies were lined up alongside the crushed wreckage of the bus. | |
Local resident Carlos Jose Perez said many of those on the bus had been taking farm produce to market. | |
"The people here are really in mourning," he said. | |
Several of the injured were transferred to local hospitals and some to Guatemala City. |
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