A head-on collision between two passenger buses in northern Peru has left at least 38 people dead and more than 55 injured, daily El Comercio reported.
The accident occurred early Monday morning on the Pan-American highway in the province of Virú, about eight hours north of Lima in La Libertad department. An inter-provincial bus registered to the América Express transportation company traveling south between Trujillo and Chimbote crashed into a bus from the Crisolito company traveling between Lima and Chiclayo.
According to state news agency Andina, the accident occurred when the América Express driver crossed into the opposite lane to pass another vehicle. The injured passengers are being treated in hospitals in Trujillo.
Police also reported two separate accidents on Sunday in Peru’s southern Andean region that left at least 12 people dead.
Highway police in Peru’s Cusco department said seven people died when the driver of a van tried to avoid a bus on a road between the cities of Cusco and Quillabama, state news agency Andina reported. The van was run off the road and plunged 200 meters into a ravine.
Five more people were killed and two injured when an ambulance lost control on a mountain road and fell 50 meters into a ravine in the province of Huamanga, located in the Ayacucho department.
In Peru – where the high number of severe car and bus accidents is notorious – many of the vehicles are old, drivers reckless, and the roads often in a bad state. In the past several years, an average of 3,500 people died and 40,000 others were injured every year as a result of car or bus accidents.
