TEGUCIGALPA – A bus in Honduras skidded off a highway and fell into a ravine on Dec 5, killing 10 people and injuring about two dozen others, the authorities said.

The bus, carrying nearly 60 people, crashed into a bridge before tipping into a stream at the bottom of the ravine about 41km from the capital Tegucigalpa, according to police officials.

Lieutenant Cristian Sevilla of the fire brigade told Reuters on Dec 5 evening that the official death toll, confirmed by Honduras’ forensic services, stood at 10 victims, revising downwards a prior report of 12 victims.

A spokesman for Honduras’ national roads and transport directorate and a spokesperson for the attorney-general’s office both confirmed on Dec 5 that 10 people had died in the crash.

The seriously injured had been taken to hospital by ambulance and helicopter, officials said.

President Xiomara Castro said on social media that the government had declared three days of national mourning.

“This is a tragedy that affects us all,” Ms Castro wrote, adding that the government would cover the victims’ funeral costs. REUTERS