42 people killed in Guatemala bus crash

AT least 42 people have died and several injured after a passenger bus crashed in northern Guatemala.

The bus crashed in bad weather on a dangerous mountain road Rescue officials said the bus fell down a 100 m ravine in the city of Chiantla, 137 km north-west of the capital, Guatemala City. Rescue workers have lifted bodies from the scene using cables, and five survivors have been taken to hospital.Officials blamed the accident on fog and rain that blanketed an already dangerous road.The bus had been travelling from the city of Huehuetenango towards the border with Mexico.Rain and bad weather also made rescue workers’ jobs difficult.News agency Efe said the death toll included six children.Mario Cruz, spokesman for volunteer fire teams, told Efe: “Forty-one of the 47 passengers… died at the scene of the accident, one other at the hospital.”BBCRescue workers have lifted bodies from the scene using cables, and five survivors have been taken to hospital.Officials blamed the accident on fog and rain that blanketed an already dangerous road.The bus had been travelling from the city of Huehuetenango towards the border with Mexico.Rain and bad weather also made rescue workers’ jobs difficult.News agency Efe said the death toll included six children.Mario Cruz, spokesman for volunteer fire teams, told Efe: “Forty-one of the 47 passengers… died at the scene of the accident, one other at the hospital.”BBC