Bus accident in Ecuador kills 24

A bus carrying travellers from Colombia and Venezuela crashed in Ecuador early Tuesday, killing 24 people and injuring 18 others, officials said.

The dead included an unspecified number of Venezuelans and Colombians, whose embassies were notified of the accident outside Quito, they said, reports VOA.

“Most of the victims were Colombians,” said Juan Zapata, security secretary for the capital city.

The bus, which had foreign license plates, was on a downward stretch of highway 30 kilometers (20 miles) east of Quito when it struck an all-terrain vehicle and overturned, slamming into three houses on the side of the road, officials said.

Three Ecuadorans in the all-terrain vehicle were among the dead, said Christian Rivera, the head of Quito’s emergency operations committee. Also killed were three children, he said.

“The work is focused on identifying the Colombian and Venezuela citizens, most of whom have died,” he said.