Bus crash kills 42 in Peru

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A bus carrying mostly Quechua farmers and merchants home for Christmas plunged 80 metres into a ravine in Peru's southern Andes Thursday, killing 42 people and injuring at least eight.

The accident took place near dawn on a stretch of mountain highway 600km southeast of Lima that was so remote the nearest village didn't have a doctor.

"The bus is completely destroyed at the bottom of the ravine, and the worst of it is that we are so isolated here that the lack of communication may have cost lives," said Cornelio Coaquira, mayor of Velille, who along with dozens of villagers tried to rescue survivors.

Victims were transported by truck to Espinar, where a doctor urged the governor to send gasoline for the town's one ambulance.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation, said Alberto Palomino of the Cusco Highway Police, who raised the death toll to 42 late Thursday.

Dr. Gabriela Cardenas, director of Espinar's medical post, told RPP radio the post has received eight injured people. She said at least two patients were in critical condition and needed to be taken to a larger hospital.

Velille school teacher Edison Olivares said the stretch of highway where the accident took place is in bad condition with many potholes.

Most of the passengers on the bus were farmers and merchants returning to their homes for Christmas and a tradition Incan celebration called "Takanakuy" held between December 24-26.