The incident occurred on Friday when a bus ran off a road into a ravine in Argentina’s Jujuy province as it was heading from Villazon in Bolivia to Buenos Aires.
Among the victims were seven men and three women, including a six-month-old baby and a six-year-old girl.
Thirty-four people are being treated in a local hospital, while five of the injured people are hospitalized in intensive care and are in serious condition.
The passengers onboard the vehicle included at least 48 Bolivians, five Argentines, three French, three Peruvians, two Germans, an Englishman, a Canadian, and a Spaniard.
Initial reports indicated a brake failure but Argentine police announced a probe on Saturday, saying that the double-decker appeared to be overloaded with passengers and traveling too fast on the hilly highway where it crashed.
The driver, the relief driver and the bus hostess — all Bolivian nationals — are under arrest while they are being investigated for “involuntary manslaughter,” according to a judicial source.
Officials said the accident took place on part of the highway known for curvy slopes that require continued braking.
Forensic experts are trying to identify the victims’ bodies mutilated in the collision.
MRS/AS/HN
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