20 deaths have been confirmed by Mexican officials after a bus plunged into a ravine yesterday. The bus which belonged to Paso del Toro line was carrying players of an amateur football team along with their families. There were 45 people on board.
The incident happened in the mountainous region of Veracruz, according to emergency management officials. The bus had plunged 30 metres down the river breaking the safety barrier of the Atoyac-Paso del Macho highway. The team was on their way to a football match at Cordoba City. The driver, according to some of the survivors, had miscalculated a curve which caused him to lose control and collide into the safety railings, eventually breaking it off and falling down into the river.
A preliminary investigation revealed, however, that the bus was likely speeding. “The bus ‘fell into the bottom of the Atoyac River’," the statement, released by the government said, adding that "16 bodies and 10 injured people were recovered."
According to the reports, the Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto has reached out to the affected families on Twitter.
"I regret the tragic accident at the bridge of Ayotac, Veracruz where several people were killed. My condolences to the families and hoping for the speedy recovery of the injured," President Nieto said.
Besides the local police, firefighters, members of the Red Cross society and personnel from emergency management helped the residents to rescue the victims and admit them to hospitals in Cordoba City, which is about 155 miles from the site of the wreckage.
The fate of the driver is not known yet.
Initially, 16 bodies were recovered and 10 people were classified injured. However, later the count of the dead went up to 20 while 25 people were found injured. An unspecified number of children have been counted among the fatalities.
