At Least 50 Killed After Bus Plunges Off Bridge and Crashes Into Ravine in Guatamala – PEOPLE

A crowded bus in Guatemala plunged off a bridge and into a polluted ravine, killing at least 50 of its passengers.

In the early hours of Monday, Feb. 10, the bus was traveling down Belice Bridge when it collided with two vehicles and lost control, reports The New York Times and CBS News.

The collision caused the bus — which had traveled out of Progreso, about 58 miles northeast of Guatemala City — to fall 115 feet into a sewage-polluted stream, The Independent reported.

The bus crashed through a metal safety railing and landed upside down and half-submerged, trapping survivors, CBS News reported. Photos from the scene showed the front of the bus under water and the windows cracked.

According to The Tico Times, an English-language media organization based in Costa Rica, the bus carried more than 70 passengers. A New York Times video showed at least one male passenger being carried up the hill on a stretcher from the twisted wreckage. His condition is unknown.

Guatemala City Mayor Ricardo Quiñónez confirmed on X that emergency services had been deployed to the area and that traffic police were working on establishing alternate routes for those traveling to the area.

Benemérito Cuerpo Voluntario de Bomberos de Guatemala, a volunteer fire department, said on Facebook that it took more than six and a half hours to rescue the bodies of the people who were trapped in the bus.

Cruz Roja Guatemalteca, a non-profit organization, said on Facebook that in addition to assisting with recovery efforts, it helped offer “psychosocial support and pre-hospital care to 100 family members on site.”

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo spoke out about the incident on X, calling it a “tragedy.”

“I stand in solidarity with the families of the victims who woke up today with heartbreaking news. Their pain is my pain,” he said.

The president said he has instructed “the mobilization of the National Army personnel and CONRED (a government agency that helps with disaster relief) to assist at the scene.”

“Furthermore, I have decided to declare national mourning, which will soon be formalized via government decree,” his statement added.

Claudinne Ogaldes, CONRED’s executive secretary, confirmed in a video update on Monday afternoon that that crash left more than 50 people dead. The National Civil Police of Guatemala (Policía Nacional Civil de Guatemala) identified the number of people dead as 54 on Monday night in an update on X and said that 10 others were injured.

“The CONRED system, through the rescue forces and municipal authorities, has finished the search and rescue operations. The local emergency center for Zone 6 remains active,” said Ogaldes.

She asked the public to “stay informed through official sources” and to allow the Public Ministry and INACIF (Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Forenses de Guatemala) to identify victims.

INACIF released a press release late on Monday announcing that it had identified 23 bodies and noted that their cause of death was polytrauma.

According to the National Institutes of Health, polytrauma is “when a patient has sustained multiple injuries, some of which may cause significant disability and may be life-threatening.”

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INAFIC said that its morgue in Zone 3 has 14 bodies that are pending identification, including those of three underage children. As of Monday night, the bodies of 35 individuals had been turned over to their families, per the National Civil Police of Guatemala.