At least 19 people died after a bus with about 50 passengers crashed in central Mexico, a spokesman for the National Civil Protection agency said on Friday.
The accident happened on Thursday night in the city of Tepic in the Guanajuato state, and vehicles arrived on the scene quickly to help with the rescue and retrieve bodies. The injured were transferred to hospitals.
“The operation to recover bodies is ongoing,” Alejandro Poire, head of the civil protection agency, told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
No information was immediately available about the type of bus involved. Mexico’s Transport Minister Gerardo Ruiz Esparza announced that the accident was being investigated, and that his department would give the people who died information about funeral arrangements and compensation for the families.
Travel between the cities of Toluca and Tepic has been suspended, and the city has declared a local holiday.
Mexico is experiencing a sharp increase in the number of highway accidents. According to government figures, 337 people died last year in transport accidents involving buses, trucks, and other motor vehicles, compared to 201 in 2017.
Read the full story at The Guardian.
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