QUITO – Families in Ecuador on Saturday were mourning victims of a Christmas Eve road accident, in which a bus plunged into a precipice, killing at least 41, including seven children.
Rescuers said around 30 passengers had survived, but had been injured, some of them badly. “There’s been a very serious accident with approximately 41 people killed,” National Transport Council (CNT) director Ricardo Anton told reporters.
Earlier reports put the death toll at 35. Fernando Gandarillas, a spokesman for the Ecuadoran Red Cross, told AFP the bus had fallen into a precipice as it negotiated a descent. It was travelling Friday from the capital Quito to the eastern towns of Chone and San Isidro, a trip of more than 250 kilometers (180 miles), he said.
A police chief from a nearby town of El Carmen, Diego Iniguez, told journalists the bus had been filled over capacity and appeared to have experienced a gearbox problem before the driver lost control.
President Rafael Correa denounced “the irresponsibility of the driver who crashed with more than 70 passengers” on board. “He picked up passengers along the road, which is prohibited,” Correa told a Christmas meeting with his staff. “It’s a well-designed highway,” he added.
One survivor told television station Ecuavisa that just before the accident a woman at the front of the bus had started screaming that the driver could not shift gears. He said the driver appeared to attempt to keep control of the vehicle, but failed and the bus rolled over for some 200 meters (yards) before hitting a tree then dropping into the precipice.
