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.
The crash took place before dawn Wednesday near a river in the coastal province of Camana.
WATCH: Witness video captures chaotic scene following deadly double-decker bus crash in Hong Kong
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.
In January, 52 people were killed in the country’s worst road fatality in four decades.