At least 15 people died and 19 were injured when the bus they were traveling in fell into a ravine on the Inter-American Highway in western Guatemala on Friday night, a tragedy for which the government declared three days of national mourning.
The vehicle fell about 75 meters deep in an area known as the Alaska summit due to its rugged geography, in the department of Totonicapán, said this Saturday the spokesman for the Volunteer Firefighters, Leandro Amado.
“We accompany those who have lost family members and loved ones,” said President Bernardo Arévalo on the X network. He also declared three days of national mourning “for the victims.”
Fatal accidents on roads are frequent in Guatemala, which is why the authorities are working on a general transportation law to regulate the sector. It is expected to come into effect in a maximum of one year.
Police are still investigating the causes of the tragedy, but the bus driver is in custody.
“There are 15 people killed in this traffic accident” and “19 people injured” were taken to nearby hospitals, Amado told reporters at the scene of the accident.
The deceased are eleven men, three women and one minor, he explained.
The members of the rescue and fire departments said a prayer around the bodies of the victims, placed on the side of the road.
Amado specified that the Sinaloa company bus crashed at kilometer 174 of the Inter-American Route, when it was covering a route from Guatemala City to the department of San Marcos, on the border with Mexico.
According to the Guatemalan press, there were around 50 passengers traveling.
Negligence or mechanical failure?
Major Juan Muñoz of the Volunteer Firefighters indicated that this area of the road “is highly dangerous” due to its pronounced curves.
Images published by the press showed rescuers, firefighters, police and civilians helping to remove people trapped from the twisted iron of the bus.
At least 15 of the injured “were admitted” to the Totonicapán hospital with skull trauma and fractures in different parts of the body, medical center spokesman Jimmy Chaclan told the Noti7 news channel.
One of the injured is in serious condition, he added.
The National Civil Police indicated that the bus driver, identified as Francisco Javier López, 28 years old, was arrested and is being guarded at the hospital where he is being treated.
“The bus driver was arrested, he is accused of manslaughter,” a police spokesman, Edwin Monroy, told AFP.
Monroy added that the cause of the accident “will be determined through the investigation” that has been opened and for now “negligence” of the driver or mechanical failure has not been ruled out.
Frequent accidents
It was the most recent tragedy on Guatemalan roads.
In February, 54 people died when the bus they were traveling in fell into a ravine at the northern entrance to Guatemala City.
A month after the accident, President Bernardo Arévalo approved mandatory insurance for motor vehicles. But the measure was suspended after strong protests from transporters.
The government gave up after they agreed to form a technical table to put into effect within a maximum period of one year the regulation requested by the 1996 traffic law and to prepare a proposal for a general transportation law initiative.
In this case, the General Directorate of Transport (DGT) indicated on the social network
