CATAMARCA, Argentina, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- At least 50 people where killed when a chartered bus carrying churchgoers back from a religious service careened 350 feet down a ravine, officials said.
According to a report published Monday on the Web site of the Clarin newspaper, a local official at the scene said there are many children among the dead. Those on the bus were mostly families traveling from a small town to the provincial capital to attend a Catholic mass, authorities said.
The bus, reportedly carrying 72 people, crashed late Sunday night about 50 miles south of Catamarca, some 800 miles northwest of Buenos Aires. The bus driver survived the crash and told investigators that brake failure was to blame. Officials also said the bus was overloaded, carrying approximately 20 more passengers than advised.
Rescue and recovery operations are being hampered by foggy conditions in the mountainous area. Officials say they had recovered 46 bodies at the scene and four people died en route to a hospital.
It was not clear how many of the injured were taken to hospital.
