Mexico bus crash death toll rises to 18, driver detained
18 people died in western Mexico early on Thursday when a passenger bus plunged off a highway into a ravine, according to state officials.
The officials also added that most passengers were foreigners, and some were heading towards the US border, Reuters reported.
On its way to the northern border town of Tijuana, the bus carried about 42 passengers, including people from the Dominican Republic, India, and African countries.
According to a statement from the state of Nayarit, the bus driver was apprehended after police noticed him speeding around a bend in the road.
The state administration reported that some 20 people had been transported to the hospital to treat injuries, with one woman’s condition being described as “delicate.”
Officials reported that the bus, part of the Elite passenger line, crashed on the highway west of Tepic’s state capital near Barranca Blanca.
The rescue has been “extremely difficult”, said Jorge Benito Rodriguez, security and civil protection secretary for Nayarit, as the ravine was some 40 meters (131 ft) deep.
According to Reuters, neither the bus company nor Mexico’s migration institute immediately responded to requests for comment.
Earlier this year, a bus transporting migrants from South and Central America crashed in central Mexico, killing 17. At the same time, 29 people died in an incident in the southern state of Oaxaca last month.
In May of this year, 18 Mexican tourists died in a bus crash in the western state of Nayarit.
Numerous individuals rely on buses, occasionally driven by small transportation organizations serving remote communities with ageing vehicles.
Meanwhile, for better traffic safety, campaigners have urged stricter regulations, such as restricting trucks pulling two cargo trailers.
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