20 People Killed in Bus Crash in Mexico

A handout picture provided by Civil Protection of Veracruz shows members of the Civil Protection and family helping some injured after a passenger bus carrying amateur soccer players fell off a cliff, in Veracruz, Mexico, 10 January 2016. (Photo: EPA)

Twenty people died when a bus plunged off a bridge in southern Mexico and fell into a deep gorge, officials said Sunday.

The head of the civil defense office in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz said the accident killed 20 of the 45 people on board. Yolanda Gutierrez said the bus was apparently carrying members of a soccer team when it skidded off the Atoyac River bridge near the city of Cordoba.

The Veracruz state government said the bus was likely speeding. It said the driver lost control when the bus went over a speed bump.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto expressed his condolences to the victims’ families. It was unclear if the driver survived.

Lamento el trágico accidente ocurrido en el Puente de Atoyac, Veracruz, en el que varias personas perdieron la vida.

— Enrique Peña Nieto (@EPN) January 10, 2016

Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, also expressed solidarity with the families of the victims.

There was no immediate information on the condition of the 25 injured.

SOURCE: Greg Toppo
USA TODAY