A truck with dozens of schoolchildren on board fell into a ravine in a remote area of Peru's Andes Mountains while returning from festivities in a highland province, killing as many as 17 people and wounding several others, according to Reuters.
According to officials, the truck fell approximately 330 feet (100 meters) into the valley, reported the BBC. Children, a teacher and parents were among those killed in the accident. The truck belonged to the municipal government of Cahuac, a small town located roughly 160 miles northeast of the Peruvian capital of Lima, where the children participated in a Sunday parade, said Ruben Alva, governor of the Huanuco region.
Officials are investigating the incident and police have detained the truck driver, said Alva. Road accidents are a common occurrence in Peru because the enforcement of passenger limit and driver competence is minimal, and many remote mountainous roads are in poor condition.
The truck was going uphill around a curve on a dirt road when it rolled back downhill and fell off the mountain, said Alva. "It dropped into a ravine, falling for about 100 meters," he said. "They were close to home, maybe 15 minutes away."
The level of poverty in the highlands is much higher than the national average, and townspeople frequently use farm or construction vehicles in order to get from one town to another due to the unavailability of public transportation, reported the Daily Mail.
