Bus crash kills 35 in Ecuador

At least 35 people died and 23 were injured on Friday when a passenger bus in the Ecuadorian coastal province Manabi went off the highway and fell 200 meters, local television station Teleamazonas reported Friday.

At least seven children died in the accident, said the local television station.

The accident took place at 2:00 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) when the bus from the "Reina del Camino" cooperative lost control following a failure in the brake system. The bus was traveling on a road in the town of La Crespa, in the coastal province of Manabi.

There were about 65 people traveling on the bus to Quito when the bus hit a rock and a tree before it fell, said Teleamazonas.

Rescuers from the local Red Cross arrived at the scene to begin rescue operations, which were hampered by rain in the region.
Source:http://english.people.com.cn