The driver of a passenger bus allegedly lost control and veered into a 75-foot gulch in southern Mexico Wednesday, the incident killing 29 people, according to The Associated Press (AP).
The crash reportedly occurred in Mexico‘s indigenous Mixteca region in the southern state of Oaxaca. The passengers appeared to be mostly manual laborers who worked in the capital and were returning home to their villages, according to The AP.
Oaxaca’s interior secretary Jesús Romero said in addition to the 29 dead, another 20 were injured, some very seriously, according to The AP. He also added one of the deceased was a 1 1/2 year-old toddler. (RELATED: Mexican Border City Mayor Living At Army Base After Threats From Gangs)
“It appears that a lack of skill and tiredness caused the accident,” Romero said, according to The AP.
The bus was reportedly destined for the small town of Yosondúa and veered off in Magdalena Peñasco, according to El Informador de Oaxaca.
Confirma secretario de Gobierno de #Oaxaca, Jesús Romero López, 27 personas fallecidas en volcadura de autobús en el centro del municipio de Magdalena Peñasco, salió de la Ciudad de México y tenía como destino a Yosondúa, en la región de la Mixteca pic.twitter.com/iHDNWaAApk
— El Informador de Oaxaca (@OaxInformador) July 5, 2023
Photos obtained by NBC News show the bus flipped on its side at the bottom of the gully.
A Senator from Oaxaca, Salomón Jara Cruz, expressed his condolences on Twitter.
“We deeply regret the accident that occurred in Magdalena Peñasco. Our government personnel are already working on the rescue actions and providing all the support to the injured people. We send a hug and our condolences to the families of the deceased, to whom we will also provide all the support to deal with their terrible loss.”