At least 51 dead after bus plunges from highway bridge in Guatemala

At least 51 people have been confirmed dead after a bus veered off a highway bridge and plunged into a polluted ravine in Guatemala City on February 10 morning.

The tragic incident occurred when the overcrowded bus, travelling from the town of San Agustín Acasaguastlán to the capital, plunged about 20 meters (66 feet) from the Puente Belice bridge, which crosses over a road and creek, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media sources.

Carlos Hernandez, a spokesperson for the authorities, confirmed the grim toll, stating that the bodies of 36 men and 15 women were recovered and sent to a provincial morgue established for the victims. The fire department shared disturbing images on social media, showing the bus partially submerged in wastewater, surrounded by the victims’ bodies.

Guatemala’s President, Bernardo Arévalo, declared three days of national mourning in response to the tragedy and deployed the army and the disaster agency to aid in the rescue and recovery efforts.

"I stand in solidarity with the families of the victims who today woke up to heartbreaking news. Their pain is my pain," President Arévalo wrote on social media, expressing his condolences to the grieving families.

Communications Minister Miguel Angel Diaz provided additional details, confirming that the bus involved in the crash was 30 years old, though it was still legally allowed to operate. Diaz noted that the cause of the accident remains under investigation, with authorities looking into whether the bus was overloaded with passengers at the time of the crash.

The devastating accident in Guatemala is part of a broader pattern of deadly road accidents in Central and South America. Similar incidents in the region have claimed dozens of lives in the past. For example, in January 2018, 52 people lost their lives in Peru when a bus fell off a cliff onto a beach north of Lima. In March 2015, a tragic tourist bus crash in Brazil’s southern state of Santa Catarina resulted in 54 fatalities.

By Tamilla Hasanova