The Bolivia bus crash kills 37 in a fatal collision between two passenger buses on a highway in southern Bolivia, with eight minors among the victims.
According to police reports, this is the deadliest bus accident in the country this year, while 41 injured passengers were rushed to hospitals.
Among the deceased were five Peruvian nationals and a three-year-old German girl, alongside seven other minors.
Authorities reported that the accident occurred in the early morning on a narrow road en route to Oruro, where the Oruro Carnival was being held.
Prosecutor Gonzalo Aparicio stated that one of the bus drivers was allegedly intoxicated and driving at high speed, causing him to veer into the opposite lane and collide head-on with the approaching bus.
“So far it is known that a driver of one of the buses was under the influence of alcohol,” said Gonzalo.
A surviving driver was confirmed to have smelled of alcohol, prompting officials to conduct a blood test.
Bolivia’s winding mountain roads are notorious for deadly accidents, with government data showing at least 1,400 fatalities occur on the country’s roads each year.
Before this tragedy, police reported that another accident in Potosi earlier this year had already claimed 64 lives.
In a separate incident, at least 30 people died when a bus overturned into an 800-meter-deep ravine on a narrow road between the cities of Potosi and Oruro.
Authorities suspect that reckless speeding by bus drivers remains a leading cause of these fatal accidents.
In January, another crash near Potosi killed 19 people when a bus veered off the road.
