By-Saksham Singh
Seventeen people were killed and 20 were injured after a bus carrying school children fell off a cliff in a rural area in northern Columbia. In a post on X earlier in the day, the governor of Antioquia, Andres Julian, said the bus was travelling from the Caribbean town of Tolu to Medellin after a school trip and was carrying students of the Antioqueno High School.
The bus was travelling on Sunday between the port city of Tumaco, in the southwestern corner of Columbia, and Cali, 320 kilometres to the northeast, when the accident occurred. The local media said the bus had been close to tumbling down a mountainside but did come to a halt against a barrier. Amongst the injured there was a three-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy.
The students were celebrating their graduation on the beach, he added on Sunday night. He further added, “It’s very hard news for the entire community during the time of December.”
In a video Rendon posted on social media, one of the survivors said, “I was asleep and all of a sudden I heard screams, and from that moment on I don’t remember anything.”
After the incident rescuers rushed to the spot, and they had to transport the survivors out of the treacherous ravine on stretchers. President Gustavo Petro offered condolences to affected families in a post on X. He wrote, “I don’t like it when young people die. Even less when they are going to study or to relax happily.”
It took rescue workers from the police and fire departments a total of nine hours to set the vehicle upright, evacuate the injured and recover the dead.
Investigators are looking at possible mechanical failures in the brake system. A report regarding the accident stated that the driver lost control after coming out of a curve in a foggy area.