Mexico Bus Accident That Claimed 18 Lives Had 6 Indians On Board: Report

MEXICO CITY: At least 18 people were reportedly killed in an accident in western Mexico when a passenger bus veered off a highway and plunged into a ravine early on Thursday (local time), state officials informed, adding most of those travelling on the bus were foreigners and were heading for the US border.

The bus crashed en route to the northern border town of Tijuana. There were around 42 passengers, including 6 citizens from India, as well as people from the Dominican Republic and African nations.

The Nayarit state government said in a statement that the bus driver was detained, with authorities suspecting him of going around a bend in the road at high speed, which resulted in the fatal accident. The bus is said to have plunged into a ravine that was some 50 meters (164 ft) deep, according to local officials.

As on Thursday afternoon, officials stated that they were still trying to identify those who had died.

They also informed that of the around 20 people that were taken to hospital to treat injuries, one woman's condition was described as ‘delicate’, the state government said.

The bus, which was part of the Elite passenger line, is reported to have crashed near Barranca Blanca on the highway outside the state capital Tepic, officials said.

Fourteen adults and three children were among those killed, they said, adding that it was not clear what had caused the bus, carrying about 40 passengers towards Tijuana, to go off the road and fall into the deep ravine.

Earlier on Thursday, photos of ambulances lining the highway and uniformed officials in the ravine below had been shared by Nayarit's Civil Protection and Firefighters, even as first respondents worked to move the passengers from the accident site.

An unnamed source from Nayarit's firefighting service said that six Indian citizens had been aboard the bus. Their fate has not been established as yet.

Jorge Benito Rodriguez, the security and civil protection secretary for Nayarit state said the rescue has been "extremely difficult", as the ravine was some 50 meters (164 ft) deep.

When queried, neither the bus company nor Mexico's migration institute immediately responded to requests for comment.

Only last month, a bus crash in the southern state of Oaxaca left 29 people dead, and in February, a bus crash killed 17 of the migrants from South and Central America in central Mexico.

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