At least 51 people are dead after their bus plunged off a bridge Monday on the outskirts of Guatemala’s capital, said Hector Flores, who was helping coordinate the municipal government’s response.
Firefighting spokesperson Edwin Villagran said a multi-vehicle crash sent the bus off the bridge before dawn, trapping survivors. Many of the victims pulled from the wreckage were seriously injured.
Volunteer firefighting spokesman Oscar Sanchez said children were among the victims.
The densely packed bus had come from Progreso department, northeast of the capital on a busy route into the city when it plunged from Puente Belice, a highway bridge that crosses over a road and creek.
The bus fell 35 meters into a sewage-polluted stream. It landed upside down and half-submerged in water.
Guatemala City fire department spokesperson, Carlos Hernandez, said the bodies of 36 men and 15 women had been sent to a provincial morgue set up for the accident.
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo declared three days of national mourning and deployed the country’s army and disaster agency to assist response efforts.
“I stand in solidarity with the families of the victims who today woke up to heartbreaking news. Their pain is my pain,” Arevalo said on social media.
