LIMA, Peru — A makeshift bus carrying 52 Quechua Indians back from a party in southeastern Peru plunged off a cliff into a river, killing everyone on board, including 13 children.
The accident occurred Friday night as the red-and-yellow cargo truck made its way back from a party in the provincial capital of Santa Teresa, an area about 310 miles (500 kilometers) southeast of Lima. It went off the road and fell about 650 feet (200 meters) into a deep ravine, ending up in the Chaupimayo river which courses through the ravine.
Rescuers equipped with little more than flashlights spent the night searching without success for survivors amid the twisted steel and large boulders, pulling bodies from the water. Authorities said bodies were found as far as 330 feet (100 meters) away from the impact site, suggesting they were thrown from the vehicle.
“We haven’t found a single survivor,” said firefighter Capt. David Taboada, who was leading the rescue operation.