An Irish tourist was among seven people killed in Peru early yesterday morning when a bus plunged into a gorge near Cuzco.
A second man from Ireland, a friend of the dead man, escaped with only minor cuts and bruises. They are both believed to be students from University College Dublin.
The bus was carrying tourists as well as Peruvians when it plunged into the gorge, killing five Peruvians, a Bolivian and the Irishman.
Some 38 people were injured. The injured were from several countries including Britain, France and Israel.
Local radio reports said four Canadians and three Americans were also hurt, but police could not confirm the report last night.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs told The Irish Times: "We can confirm the death of an Irish man in Peru. The victim's family are being offered consular assistance by our embassy in Mexico and our consulate in Peru."
The Honorary Irish Consul in Peru, Mr Michael Russell, told The Irish Times that the accident occurred near Urcos, south of Cuzco, at approximately 6 a.m. local time (12 midnight Irish time).
The bus, which was travelling from Puno, near Lake Titicaca, to the tourist city of Cuzco, the gateway to Peru's Machu Picchu Inca ruins, fell between 30 and 70 feet, Mr Russell said.
The bus was travelling without insurance or a licence to operate a coach service and was built on a frame "too small to carry its load", he said.
"Bus crashes are not uncommon in Peru. However all the roads to the main tourist attractions are well paved.
"The problem was that the bus was not mechanically sound to travel and transport the people it was carrying," Mr Russell said.
It is believed that the driver lost control of the vehicle on a bridge in a steep river valley.
The driver may have been going too fast or even have fallen asleep at the wheel, Peruvian police said.
According to the British Embassy in Peru, the bus was owned by an "unknown company" called Pony.
The embassy said it was carrying up to 70 people.
Hundreds of people die in bus crashes every year in Peru because of perilous roads, poorly maintained vehicles and bad judgment by drivers in treacherous weather conditions. However, tourists are rarely involved in these accidents.
At least 37 people died in July when two Peruvian buses crashed head-on in thick fog in the town of Palpa, south of the capital, Lima. Another 30 people died at the start of this month in a bus crash in the central Andes.