At least 31 people were killed and 72 injured in three road accidents involving buses in Peru, a nationwide radio station, Radio Programas del Peru, reported.
The accidents occurred on Monday. The heaviest death toll was in the country's southeastern Puno Region when an intercity bus of the Perla del Sur company carrying some 70 passengers fell into a river from a 200-meter height.
Eighteen bodies were taken out of the water and 30 people were injured.
Another bus fell into a ravine from a 130-meter height in the Ancash Region in northern Peru, killing 2 miners and leaving 22 passengers injured. The driver fled the scene.
The third accident involved an intercity bus of the Soyuz company that collided head-on with a truck in the Ica Region killing 11 people. Twenty passengers were hospitalized.
Peru is notorious for its high number of traffic accidents, particularly in the mountains.
The problem is made worse by a poor condition of roads and vehicles, and careless driving. In addition, a driver's license can be illegally bought in the country for a mere $30.
Over 3,500 people are killed and 50,000 injured in road accidents in the country annually. Financial losses from traffic accidents are estimated at about a billion dollars, about one third of the country's healthcare spending.
BUENOS AIRES, December 29 (RIA Novosti)
