Bus traveling from Lima to Peru’s Amazon overturns on highway in the Andes, killing at least 18

LIMA, Peru (AP) — A bus traveling from Lima to Peru’s Amazon region overturned on a highway in the Andes Mountains, leaving at least 18 people dead and 48 injured, authorities said Friday.

The double-decker bus belonging to the company “Expreso Molina Líder Internacional” went off the road and fell down a slope in the district of Palca, Junín region, Junin’s health director Clifor Curipaco told reporters. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the accident.

Videos broadcast on local television showed the bus split in two, while firefighters and police tried to rescue the injured.

It was not the first fatal bus accident in 2025, another bus fell into a river on Jan. 3, leaving six people dead and 32 injured.

A study by the Attorney General’s Office found that d river recklessness and excessive speed are the main causes of accidents in Peru.

Road transportation is poorly monitored by authorities in Peru, and emergency assistance is so slow and disorganized. In 2024, there were approximately 3,173 deaths as a result of traffic accidents in the South American country, according to official data from the Death Information System.