Ten Peruvians Killed In Canadian Car Crash, Three Injured

Ten Peruvian farm workers were killed and three more injured late Monday in Canada when a van they were traveling in was involved in a violent accident with a flatbed truck outside Stratford, in southwestern Ontario. 

Peru’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the injured had been identified as as Javier Abelardo Aldo Medina, Juan Jose Ariza, and Edgar Sulla Puma. The ministry said in a statement that the three are being treated at separate hospitals in Ontario. Read more…

Owner Of Drug Rehab Center Faces 8 Years In Prison

The owner of an unlicensed drug rehab center that was engulfed by a deadly fire over the weekend could receive eight years in prison, according to newspaper El Comercio, citing lawyer Mario Amoretti.

Raul Garcia Albornoz, owner of the Christ is Love center in Lima’s lower-class San Juan de Lurigancho district, turned himself into police following the fire on Saturday.

Peru’s Public Ministry opened an investigation into the cause of the fire, which broke out when two patients set fire to mattresses in an attempt to escape. The fire Read more…

Christmas Fire Leaves 200 Families Homeless in Callao

A fire on Christmas day destroyed more than 50 homes and left some 200 families homeless in the port city of Callao.

The fire began at about 10:30 a.m. on Sunday in the low-income neighborhood of Atalaya, and was caused by firecrackers, which are popular during the holidays.

No fatalities were reported, local media said. Read more…

Five fatalities in small plane crash in Peruvian jungle

Five people died when a small police plane in Peru’s eastern Ucayali department crashed, local media reported on Friday.

The crash was caused by mechanical failures late Thursday after the plane took off from the airport in Iparia, in the province of Coronel Portillo, on route to Pucallpa, the capital of Ucayali, daily El Comercio said. Read more…

Over 80 percent of Peru traffic accidents caused by human error

The vast majority of traffic accidents in Peru are due to human factors, including recklessness on the part of the driver or pedestrians, according to Peruvian insurance association Apeseg.

Apeseg representative Gustavo Cerdeña said 83  percent of traffic accidents are due to human error, Peru.21 reported.

“The poor behavior of the driver is clear,” Cerdeña said. “They fall asleep, speed, drive while drunk, or are reckless when passing other vehicles. The irresponsibility Read more…

Twenty-one dead, numerous injured as bus plunges 200 meters in southern highlands

At least 21 people are dead after an inter-provincial bus racing through Peru’s southern highlands went over a cliff early Friday, daily El Comercio reported.

The accident occurred at 5:00a.m. when a bus belonging to the Virgen del Carmen transport company plunged down a 200 meter abyss after losing control on a higway between Paucartambo and Cusco.

The accident, which also left some 47 people injured, was a result of excessive speed, authorities say.

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 3,500 people have died and 40,000 are injured every year as a result of car or bus accidents.

Bus goes over cliff in Peruvian Andes, at least 22 dead; 25 injured

An inter-provincial bus lost control and plunged some 200 meters off a cliff, killing at least 22 people and injuring another 25, newspaper Peru. 21 reported.

The accident occurred at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday in the Sayapullo district Peru’s northern La Libertad department. The cause of the accident is still unknown. Read more…

Authorities meet to discuss informal transportation on waterways

Authorities in north-eastern Peru’s Loreto region met on Friday to analyze options aimed at restraining informal transportation on the region’s waterways after a ferry sank in the Amazon River this week, state news agency Andina reported.

“The idea is to agree on immediate actions and disciplinary measures to improve transportation security on Amazon rivers to help save lives,” the head of the region’s civil defense, Robert Falcón, said. Read more…

Civil society group proposes creation of new government agency to improve traffic

A group of organizations led by Cruzada Vial, a Lima-based civil society association, has proposed the creation of an independent government agency to oversee the improvement of Peru’s transportation system, state news agency Andina reported.

Peru’s ombudsman – the Defensoria del Pueblo – reported last March that there were more than 86,000 traffic accidents in 2009 killing 3,243 people and injuring more than 48,000 others. Read more…

Fourteen die, four injured when bus plunges into Lake Titicaca

At least 14 people have died and four more injured when a bus traveling to the city of Juliaca in Peru’s Puno department lost control and fell 100 meters off a cliff into the waters of Lake Titicaca, state news agency Andina reported.

“We’ve been able to remove from the waters, with the support of the population and some boats, 14 people who were killed, among them a 7-month-old baby,” police officer Zócimo Contreras was quoted as saying.

According to RPP radio station, the injured have been taken to a hospital in Juliaca.

The bus reportedly belonged to the San Román company and was traveling from Cuzco to Juliaca when the accident occurred early Monday morning in the district of Conima.

By late Monday afternoon, rescue teams were still working on removing victims from the bus which remained some 70 meters below the surface of the lake.

Five more people were killed in a separate accident on Sunday when a car crashed into a truck less than 100 miles from Lima on a central highway to Peru’s central Junín region, Spanish news agency Efe reported.

Peru’s ombudsman – the Defensoría del Pueblo – reported last March that in 2009 there were more than 86,000 traffic accidents in the country. The accidents killed 3,243 people and injured more than 48,000 others.

Next Page »