Three Road Accidents in Peru Leave Over 40 Dead

More than 40 people were killed in three road accidents in Peru that took place on Friday and Saturday.

MOSCOW, January 11 (Sputnik) – More than 40 people were killed in several road accidents in Peru over two days, AFP reports, citing police and media.

23 people were killed after a bus fell off a cliff in the Cusco region, police said. 33 people were allegedly injured, according to the Correo newspaper. The driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle due to heavy rains. The bus was en route to the town of Santa Barbara.

Early on Saturday, a bus plunged off a cliff in the Arequipa region, killing ten people, according to AFP. The incident left 30 people injured. The bus was driving between the towns of Ocona and Camana.

On Friday, a bus and a truck collided in the region of Puno, leaving nine people dead and approximately a dozen injured.

The US Department of State warns that deadly bus accidents in Peru are a common occurrence. "[T]hey are frequently attributed to excessive speed, poor bus maintenance, and driver fatigue," the agency says in its country profile on Peru.

Fog and the resulting poor visibility are another common reason for accidents, especially on coastal and mountain highways in Peru.

According to official statistics, road accidents killed over 2,500 people in the country in 2013.