Malik Waqar
At least 30 people have died and many others have been injured after a bus plunged into a ravine outside Guatemala City, officials have confirmed.
Mynor Ruano, a spokesman for the city’s fire service, said on Monday that rescue efforts were ongoing to free those trapped in the wreckage. The bus was travelling on a busy route in and out of the capital when it fell from Puente Belice, a highway bridge that crosses over a road and creek.
Footage shared by the fire department on social media showed rescue teams pulling victims from the ravine, with images of the bus overturned at the bottom.
In response to the tragedy, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo declared three days of national mourning. The army and disaster agencies have been deployed to assist with the rescue operations. “I stand in solidarity with the families of the victims who today woke up to heartbreaking news,” he said. “Their pain is my pain.”
Guatemala City Mayor Ricardo Quiñónez also took to social media, confirming that emergency services had been dispatched, while traffic police worked to establish alternate routes in the affected area.
