Forensic technicians remove a body from a scene where a bus skidded off a highway and fell into a ravine, leaving some passengers dead and several injured, on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, December 5, 2023. REUTERS/Fredy Rodriguez
TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - A bus in Honduras skidded off a highway and fell into a ravine on Tuesday, killing 10 people and injuring around two dozen others, authorities said.
The bus, carrying nearly 60 people, crashed into a bridge before tipping into a stream at the bottom of the ravine about 41 kilometers (25 miles) from Tegucigalpa, according to police officials.
Fire brigade Lieutenant Cristian Sevilla told Reuters Tuesday evening that the official death toll, confirmed by Honduras' forensic services, stood at 10 victims, revising downward a prior report of 12 victims.
A spokesperson for Honduras' national roads and transportation directorate and a spokesperson for the attorney general's office both confirmed on Tuesday evening that ten people had died in the crash.
The seriously injured had been taken to the hospital by ambulance and helicopter, officials said.
President Xiomara Castro said on social media the government had declared three days of national mourning.
"This is a tragedy that affects us all," Castro wrote, adding that the government would cover the victims' funeral costs.
(Reporting by Gustavo Palencia; Editing by Sarah Morland and Sandra Maler)
