The accident occurred on Sunday night when the bus was heading to the town of Sorochuco, Olga Bobadilla, provincial prosecutor for the Cajamarca region, told local radio station
“Information is still being collected because the accident occurred at night on a fairly rugged road, an unpaved road, where the bus fell into an abyss toward the river,” Bobadilla said.
Local media outlets reported that the bus was travelling from the nearby town of Celendin, which announced three days of mourning in a statement shared by the local government
Accidents are relatively common along Peru’s precarious roads, with around two dozen people dying in a crash last September and at least 24 dying when a bus plunged off a cliff in January 2023.
'The road is in terrible condition... those are the consequences,' Carlos Pinedo, mayor of the nearby town of Yanac, told local media.'We should not wait for more deaths,' he added.
Police are yet to determine the cause of the crash, which was reported by authorities on Tuesday.
In September, 25 bus passengers died in an accident in the south of the country.
Not even a month later, in August, another accident in the same region killed 13, leaving five seriously injured.
Furthermore, the most recent World Health Organisation data estimates that there were 4,414 road traffic related deaths in Peru in 2019.
The public prosecutor's office has said that speeding and reckless driving are the main causes of accidents in Peru.
Road accidents, in particular deadly bus crashes, are frequent in the South American country
A non-fatal crash earlier this month left an Australian couple in urgent need of medical treatment but visa and insurance issues are preventing them from travelling home to receive treatment.
Jason and Stephanie Rowe were in a bus that drove over a cliff-edge in the Amazon jungle, flipping three times before coming to rest just short of the river.
The survivors were eventually rescued but the couple have not been impressed by the local medical treatment which has found them in seperate hospitals 9-hours from each other by car.
Mr Rowe has also been unable to secure head scans for any lingering injuries, leading to their urgency to return home
A spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Australia they are assisting the couple with their travel needs but said they could not provide further information.
