Bus crash in Peru..20 dead

LIMA -- The death toll from a crash involving two buses and a truck on a highway in southern Peru has risen to 20, with 59 other people injured, police said. Three of those killed in the accident, which occurred around 4:10 a.m. Tuesday at kilometer 127 of the highway that links the Andean city of Arequipa with Juliaca and Cuzco in southeastern Peru, were Italian tourists. The buses were tra veling in the same direction when they collided and were then hit by the truck, highway patrol Col. Percy Manchego told Peruvian media. Other buses in the area helped transport the injured to two hospitals in Arequipa, the N television network reported. On Monday, 12 people were killed and 40 others were injured when a bus fell 60 meters (197 feet) into a ravine in the southern region of Ayacucho. The accident occurred on a dirt road between the towns of Puquio and Andamarca, located some 600 kilometers (373 miles) south of Lima, and while the cause has not been determined, it is believed that heavy rains in the area were responsible, an Ayacucho police spokesman told Efe. In 2008, 875 people died and 5,307 others were injured, according to official figures, in traffic accidents in Peru. Last year, the Ombudsman's Office said there were "profound weaknesses" in the government's ability to prevent traffic accidents in the Andean nation. Experts say the accident rate in Peru's interior is extremely high due to the poor condition of roads, an obsolete bus fleet and drivers who obtain licenses on the "black market" by paying between $30 and $50. EFE

LiveLeak | February 12, 2009

Tags:. .veling. .ayacucho. .arequipa. .cuzco. .peruvian