Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: GERARDO VIEYRA / NURPHOTO / NURPHOTO VIA AFP 21:34 p.m., July 05, 2023

At least 25 people were killed and 17 others injured when a passenger bus crashed into a ravine in Mexico's mountainous area of Oaxaca state. The bus of a local transport company had departed from Mexico City and had as its final destination the village of Santiago de Yosondua.

At least 25 people were killed and 17 others injured when a passenger bus fell into a ravine in Mexico, in a mountainous area of the southern state of Oaxaca, local police said Wednesday. "The preliminary toll is 25 dead and 17 seriously injured," a local police chief told AFP by phone by calling for an AFP correspondent who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

>>

READ ALSO – Mexico: discovery of a site that would contain dozens of corpses

The bus of a local transport company had left Mexico City and had as its final destination the village of Santiago de Yosondua (1,500 inhabitants), according to police and prosecutor's office reports. "We deeply regret the accident that occurred in Magdalena Penasco," Oaxaca state governor Salomon Jara wrote on social media.

He dado indicaciones precisas a las Secretarías de Gobierno, Salud, Seguridad Pública, Bienestar, Tequio e Inclusión, Protección Civil, así como al DIF, para que se trasladen a la zona del accidente en Magdalena Peñasco para atender a las personas afectadas por este terrible...

— Salomón Jara Cruz (@salomonj) July 5, 2023

The bus completely destroyed in its upper part

"Our government personnel are already on the ground, participating in relief operations and providing all our support to the injured. We send a warm greeting and condolences to the families of those who died," the governor added.

Police footage posted on social media showed the bus completely destroyed in its upper part, while rescue workers searched the rubble. Oaxaca is a very touristic destination, a kind of Mexico in miniature with its beaches, mountains, the traditions of the Zapotec and Mixtec communities, the capital with pastel-colored buildings, and the pre-Hispanic site of Monte Alban.