By Alex Pashley
LIMA, Peru
At least 20 people have died after a small bus carrying passengers to a religious festival drove off a mountain road in southern Peru, local media reported.
The accident occurred in the Apurimac region when the bus came off a dangerous section of the Puquio-Chalhuanca highway as it headed through the Andes mountains, plunging 200 meters.
Eight women, seven men, including the driver, and five children were among the fatalities, according to daily Peru 21. A further 11 passengers were injured.
The cause of Friday night’s accident, on a section of road named Seven Turns, is being investigated.
The bus was heading for the Senor de Huanca festival in Cusco.
Fatal bus crashes are frequent in Peru, due to poor road safety and mountainous terrain. More than 2,500 people were killed in road accidents in 2013, according to government figures.
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