22 people died and 10 were injured Easter Sunday, when a bus on the Medellin to Bogota highway left the road and fell down an 80-meter cliff.
The Transoriente bus reportedly left Puerto Nare in the central Colombian department of Antioquia at 1.30 PM Sunday and crashed at an unspecified time later that day near the Antioquian municipality of San Luis. Thirty-one passangers and one driver are believed to have been on board.
Witness Edwin Cardona said the bus was travelling at high speed ahead of three cars, and that when the bus reached a curve in the road it failed to turn, continuing straight ahead over an 80-meter cliff.
Antioquia Police Commissioner Jorge Andres Rodriguez Borbon, who attended the crash site, said there were several unexplained details about the accident. According to Rodriguez, the tragedy occured on a wide stretch of road, with a 20-meter distance between the road and the cliff face, which the bus crossed before driving over the cliff.
The accident victims were transported to two local hospitals.
Transoriente spokesman Sergio Durango said that the majority of the victims were students, who were returning to Medellin following Easter weekend celebrations.
The bus driver was killed in the accident. Police will investigate the incident further.
According to the police, the death toll on Colombian roads over the Easter holiday period was 45, which is two deaths higher than the same period in 2009. There were 90 road accidents reported over the holiday period, 26 less than in 2009.