At least 20 people were killed and 15 injured in a bus crash in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, police said. Among the injured are a three-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy.
The accident occurred on the Pan-American highway and “unfortunately we have a death toll of 20”, the police captain responsible for traffic in the department of Nariño told the press.
“Mechanical failure”
The bus traveling between the port of Tumaco and the city of Cali overturned on the road early Saturday due to a “mechanical failure”, added this source. According to Colonel Oscar Lamprea, in charge of traffic and transport within the national police, “the hypothesis is a breakdown in the braking system”.
According to preliminary findings, the driver lost control of the coach when exiting a bend, while visibility was reduced due to fog. The emergency services intervened for more than nine hours to free the injured in various hospitals in the region.