World

Guatemala in mourning after 15 killed in bus crash

By AAP Newswire

Dec 28, 2025

Fifteen dead after bus plunges into Guatemala ravine — Fifteen people have been killed when their bus plunged into a ravine in rural Guatemala. -EPA

An intermunicipal bus has veered off a road in Guatemala and fallen into a deep ravine, killing 15 passengers and injuring at least 15 others.

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The country declared three days of national mourning from Saturday.

The accident happened on Friday night outside the town of Totonicapan along a route known as the Interamerican Road.

Officials said it took rescue workers more than two hours to recover the corpses from the crash site and rescue injured passengers. Fifteen people were still being treated for injuries at local hospitals.

"I profoundly regret the tragedy which happened along the Interamerican Route," President Bernardo Arevalo said in a social media statement.

"We are coordinating all necessary actions to assist those who have been affected."

Road accidents are common in Guatemala, a mountainous country where transportation regulations are loosely enforced and where many towns and cities are connected by narrow, two lane roads.

In October, the National Transportation Safety Obervatory, a government agency, said that 446 public transportation vehicles in the country had been involved in accidents in 2025.

Those accidents resulted in 111 deaths and more than 600 people injured through October.