Bus crashes 650ft into Peru ravine killing all 51 on board

A bus carrying 51 Quecha Indians back from a party in southeastern Peru plunged off a cliff into a 650ft ravine - killing everyone on board, including 14 children.

The accident happened on Friday night when the cargo truck - used as a makeshift bus - was taking people home from a party in Santa Teresa, about 310 miles southeast of Lima.

The bus careered off the road and fell into the 200m-deep ravine, ending up in the Chaupimayo River below.

According to ABC News, Firefighter Capt. David Taboada, who was leading the rescue operation, told AP: "We haven't found a single survivor.

The exact cause of the crash has not been identified but Taboada said the bus was "coming from a party in Santa Teresa at which a lot of alcohol was consumed".

Firefighters placed recovered bodies on a football field above the crash site, and relatives of the victims arrived to identify their loved ones throughout the day, reports the Guardian.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Fedia Castro, the mayor of the district Santa Teresa is located in, told Canal N television that rural farmers often have to rely on informal forms of transport, like the cargo truck in this instance, as no public buses exist in the area.

The Peruvian Andes are notorious for bus plunges, with more than 4,000 people being killed in such accidents in 2012.

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