Illustrative image from a Colombian police operation. Credit: Long Visual Press/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia
At least 16 people died on Sunday when a bus carrying schoolchildren fell off a hill in a rural area in northern Colombia, according to the announcement made by the local governor, Reuters and AFP write.
In a post on Platform X, Governor Andrés Julián said the Antioqueño High School students were returning to Medellín from Tolu, a town on the Caribbean coast, when the bus went off the road and plunged into a ravine.
The publication El Colombiano reported that there were 37 people in the coach. In addition to the 16 confirmed deaths, approximately 20 people were injured in the road accident.
Among the people who died was the coach driver, who worked for a tourist transport company.
Local hospitals were mobilized to treat the injured.
The governor of the Antioquia region, who described the day as a tragic one for the region, said the authorities were investigating the cause of the tragedy.
