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'Brakes failed': fourteen killed in Guatemala bus crash

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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

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At least fourteen former paramilitary group members are dead as the result of a bus crash in Guatemala. BBC News Online reports at least 25 other paramilitaries were injured. According to the Herald Sun, at least 50 were injured in the crash.

The driver was going very fast and when we got to the curve his brakes failed and we went into the ravine

—Crash survivor

The incident happened when the bus was near the city of San Marcos. In the early hours of the morning, the bus departed from the mountain road and went into a ravine that is 50 metres (164 feet) in depth. There were approximately 60 passengers on the vehicle when the accident occurred.

Injured survivors of the crash were transported to local hospitals. One of the survivors of the accident explained to the local media that "[t]he driver was going very fast and when we got to the curve his brakes failed and we went into the ravine". Rescue crews have also suggested that braking system problems were the cause of the crash. According to BBC News Online, road traffic collisions often occur on the mountainous Guatemalan roads.

All of the passengers of the vehicle are participators in a reforestation project, and were travelling towards the municipality of Concepción Tutuapa to receive payment for their work on the project. The project was which was created by the government to give them employment. Previously, the military had created the group to assist in fighting against left-wing rebels during the Guatemalan Civil War.


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  This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

The text of this article is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License
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