At least 30 dead as bus falls into ravine in Guatemala City, say rescuers

At least 30 dead as bus falls into ravine in Guatemala City, say rescuers

A bus carrying 75 people plunged into a ravine in Guatemala City on Monday, killing at least 31 people and leaving others trapped under the wreckage in a river, rescue workers said.

"Thirty-one bodies have been recovered from the bus so far and we are trying to save other people who are trapped," Mynor Ruano, a spokesman for the city's fire service, told reporters.

Emergency workers had managed to extricate 10 injured people from the bus, which crashed off the Puente de Belice bridge at the northern entrance to Guatemala's capital into a river contaminated with effluent.

Several seriously injured people were taken to a nearby hospital, Ruano said.

According to local media, the bus was travelling to Guatemala City from the town of San Agustin Acasaguastlan in El Progreso department, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) to the northeast.

Police were investigating the cause of the accident, which occurred in the early morning.