At least 15 dead, 19 injured in Guatemala as bus plunges into ravine | Transport news

The bus, which was traveling between Guatemala City and San Marcos, crashed for unknown reasons, according to authorities.

At least 15 people were killed and 19 others injured after a passenger bus plunged into a ravine on the Inter-American Highway in western Guatemala, according to local authorities.

The deaths included 11 men, three women and a minor, according to Leandro Amado, spokesperson for the local fire department.

Amado told reporters Saturday that some 19 injured people had been taken to hospitals near the crash site.

The accident occurred in the department of Solola between kilometers 172 and 174, in an area nicknamed “Alaska Peak” because of its rugged terrain, in the department of Totonicapan (western Guatemala).

Dense fog in this area often reduces visibility for drivers using the route in question.

“Unknown reason”

The bus, which was traveling between Guatemala City and the department of San Marcos, on the border with Mexico, fell into a ravine almost 75 meters deep for unknown reasons, Amado added.

Images shared by firefighters on social media early Saturday showed the destroyed bus in the ravine as firefighters worked at the scene to rescue the injured and recover the bodies of victims.

Relatives of the passengers arrived at the scene of the accident as well as nearby hospitals in search of their loved ones, local media reported.

At the start of 2025, more than 50 people deceased and many others were injured in another major bus accident in the country, when the vehicle plunged into a polluted ravine outside Guatemala City.