24 dead, 19 wounded in Ecuador bus crash

By Alix Hardy

MEXICO CITY

At least 24 people were dead and 19 others wounded after a bus crashed in a suburb of the of Ecuadorian capital of Quito early Tuesday, according to authorities.

“At 3 a.m. on Tuesday, an accident was reported to the emergency Fire services’ hotline. On site, it was recorded that a bus had crashed against a van,” fire official Veronica Toapanta said in a video posted on Twitter.

Two of the dead victims are children, she added.

The bus was registered in Colombia and carried foreign passengers, emergency security units said in a press release. Colombian newspaper El Tiempo stated 23 Colombians and 10 Venezuelans were aboard the bus.

“We have centered our work on identifying the Colombian and Venezuelan passengers, of which a majority was killed,” Quito Security Minister Christian Rivera told public television channel Gama.

Quito Security Director Juan Zapata confirmed to El Tiempo the bus was traveling from Neiva, in southern Colombia, to the Ecuadorian capital.

According to Ecuadorian police, the bus crashed into another vehicle, then turned over and hit the surrounding buildings.

Pictures and videos published by rescue units show the bus lying on its side, with signs of heavy damage to its frame.

The crash took place 19 miles (30 kilometers) southeast of Quito in a section of road known as the deadly curve.

Local news outlet Metro Ecuador reported four accidents had taken place there in less than a year.