A dump truck crammed with dozens of schoolchildren dropped from a cliff in the Peruvian Andes as it returned from festivities in a highland province, killing 17 people mostly children – and injuring 54, a local governor said.
The truck belonged to the municipal government of Cahuac, one of several small towns some 260km northeast of Lima where children had been summoned to take part in a Sunday parade in the provincial capital, said Ruben Alva, governor of the Huanuco region.
Authorities were investigating the crash and the driver, who survived, was being held by police, Mr Alva said.
Fatal road incidents are common in Peru, where enforcement of passenger limits is minimal and many rural routes are in poor condition.
The truck was making its way uphill around a curve on a dirt road when it rolled backwards and over a cliff, Mr Alva said.
“It dropped into a ravine, falling for about 100 metres,” he said. “They were close to home, maybe 15 minutes away.”
Several schoolchildren, a teacher and parents were among the dead, he said.
Poverty rates in the highlands are higher than the national average and many townspeople pile on to farm and construction vehicles to travel between towns due to a lack of public transportation.
But Mr Alva said it was not normal for the municipality to use a dump truck to transport locals.
Reuters