11 dead after bus plunges down embankment in Costa Rica

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – A bus carrying retired university employees on an excursion plunged down an embankment in Costa Rica on Thursday, killing 11 people and leaving 16 in critical condition, the government said.

National University Rector Alberto Salom said the passengers were university retirees who were headed to the Maleku Indian reserve in the north of the country. There were 31 people aboard.

A government statement raised the death toll to 11, and President Luis Guillermo Solis called for three days of mourning.

Rescue units from the Red Cross and fire department were at the scene, as were two helicopters from the government security service, said fire department spokesman Josue Lara.

Lara said the bus fell about 15 metres (50 feet) down the slope and came to rest upside down. He said it was fortunate the bus did not fall farther.

The crash occurred in Cinchona near the Poas volcano on a curvy highway with deep canyons, some reaching more than 800 feet (250 metres).