Crews in Peru race to rescue passengers after bus plunges off highway in deadly crash: Police

The crash occurred just north of Lima, the capital.

ByABC News
January 3, 2018, 6:50 AM

— -- Officers in Peru are racing to rescue victims after a bus fell over the edge of the Pan-American Highway, killing at least 48 people, Peruvian officials said, according to The Associated Press.

PHOTO: Emergency personnel load a victim onto a helicopter during rescue operations after a passenger bus plunged off the Pan-American Highway North, outside of Lima, Peru, Jan. 2, 2018.
Emergency personnel load a victim onto a helicopter during rescue operations after a passenger bus plunged off the Pan-American Highway North, outside of Lima, Peru, Jan. 2, 2018. At least 25 people died and 30 injured after a passenger bus plunged off a cliff by the sea in an area known as Pasamayo, in northern Lima, officials said.

Col. Dino Escudero told RPP radio that the bus fell 262 feet onto a beach after being hit by a tractor-trailer rig, the AP reported. A photo shows the destroyed, overturned bus laying on top of rocks on the beach, partially in the water.

PHOTO: An injured man is transported over water from a bus that fell off a cliff after it was hit by a tractor-trailer rig, in Pasamayo, Peru, Jan. 2, 2018.
An injured man is transported over water from a bus that fell off a cliff after it was hit by a tractor-trailer rig, in Pasamayo, Peru, Jan. 2, 2018.
PHOTO: Rescue workers surround an injured man on a stretcher who was lifted up from the site of a bus crash at the bottom of a cliff in Pasamayo, Peru, Jan. 2, 2018.
Rescue workers surround an injured man on a stretcher who was lifted up from the site of a bus crash at the bottom of a cliff in Pasamayo, Peru, Jan. 2, 2018.

The crash took place just north of Lima, the capital, the National Police of Peru said on Twitter.

Fifty-seven passengers were on board the bus, a fire official said, according to the AP.

PHOTO: Emergency personnel covering themselves from dust generated by a helicopter during rescue operations after a passenger bus plunged off the Pan-American Highway North, outside of Lima, Peru, Jan. 2, 2018.
Emergency personnel covering themselves from dust generated by a helicopter during rescue operations after a passenger bus plunged off the Pan-American Highway North, outside of Lima, Peru, Jan. 2, 2018.
PHOTO: A picture released by Peruvian agency Andina shows firefighters and rescuers working during rescue efforts after a bus plunged over a cliff after colliding with a truck on a coastal highway near Pasamayo, on Jan. 2, 2018.
A picture released by Peruvian agency Andina shows firefighters and rescuers working during rescue efforts after a bus plunged over a cliff after colliding with a truck on a coastal highway near Pasamayo, on Jan. 2, 2018.

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