Mexico Bus Plunges Off Cliff, Killing 18, Injuring Dozens of Tourists

A bus fell off a cliff in western Mexico
The tour bus accident resulted in deaths of 11 women and seven men
The cause of accident remains unknown

A local official said on Sunday that at least 18 Mexican tourists were killed and another two dozen were injured when their tour bus plunged into a ravine in the western state of Nayarit.

The bus was transporting visitors from Guadalajara in the neighboring state of Jalisco to the seaside destination of Guayabitos in Nayarit, according to civil protection official Pedro Nunez.

Mexico Tour Bus Crash

Per The Strait Times, the accident's cause remains unknown. Nunez stated that all of the passengers were Mexican nationals.

The prosecutor's office in the state of Nayarit, where the accident occurred, reported that the vehicle plummeted approximately 15 meters (49.21 feet) down a ravine on Saturday night, on a highway that connects the state capital of Tepic to the popular tourist destination of Puerto Vallarta.

In a statement shared on Twitter, the prosecutor's office said, "From the very start, we have worked in cooperation with federal and state authorities to provide immediate attention to victims."

According to authorities, 11 women and seven men were slain. At least eleven minors have been transferred to hospitals for medical care.

Nunez stated, "The incident occurred while the bus was transporting passengers on a 220 km journey from Guadalajara, in the neighboring state of Jalisco, to the beach town of Guayabitos, in the state of Nayarit." He further stated, "The bus belonged to a private company."

Mexico Road Accidents

The Attorney General's Office of Nayarit has initiated preliminary investigations based on information provided by passengers and information compiled by the Criminal Investigation Agency, according to a statement.

Pablo Lemus, the mayor of Guadalajara, stated that his office ''remains attentive to the needs of the families affected by the accident'' and that he is working in coordination with the authorities of Jalisco ''to attend to and transport those affected by the traffic accident''.

On December 31, 2022, 15 people perished and 47 were injured when a bus transporting holiday season tourists overturned on a highway in Mexico's Pacific coast state of Nayarit, according to authorities. The rescue team in the adjacent state of Guanajuato reported that all of the passengers were from the same city, Leon.

The passengers have reportedly returned from Guayabitos, a coastal community north of Puerto Vallarta, as reported by the local media. Per Republic World, such accidents were frequently caused in the past by poor maintenance of rental vehicles, poor weather or road conditions, or excessive speed.

Meanwhile, a single-vehicle mishap in Sierra County resulted in multiple fatalities and shut down traffic in both directions between mile markers 59 and 63 for several hours. The New Mexico State Police confirmed that the vehicle contained illegal immigrants. It is unknown how many people were inside the vehicle when it crashed.

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