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At least 44 dead after bus hurtles down cliff in southern Peru

Click to play video: 'At least 44 die in Peru after bus plunges into ravine'
At least 44 die in Peru after bus plunges into ravine
ABOVE: At least 44 die in southern Peru after bus plunges into ravine. – Feb 21, 2018

At least 44 people were killed when a double-deck bus veered off a highway and tumbled 200 metres down a cliff in southern Peru, police said.

Highway Police chief Jorge Castillo told The Associated Press that the death toll has risen as officers count more bodies. Police said about two dozen people are injured, but they’re not sure how many people were aboard. Air Force helicopters are helping rescue survivors.

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The crash took place before dawn Wednesday near a river in the coastal province of Camana.

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The cause wasn’t immediately known, but crashes caused by reckless driving on poorly maintained mountain roads claim dozens of lives every year in Peru.

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In January, 52 people were killed in the country’s worst road fatality in four decades.

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