A bus carrying members of an amateur football team plunged off a mountain road into a deep gorge in the Mexican Gulf state of Veracruz, killing at least 20 people, officials said.
Nearly 25 others were injured in the tragic accident that took place early on Sunday in the mountainous city of Atoyac, according to the EFE news agency. The injured were taken to a hospital in Cordoba city.
"The rescue on the Atoyac River has been concluded. The total toll is 20 people dead, 25 injured," said Yolanda Gutierrez Carlin, Veracruz's secretary of civil protection, according to IANS.
The ill-fated bus had 45 people on board when it fell into a ravine. The team was going to Cordoba city to play a soccer game. Relatives of the soccer players were among the passengers.
Emergency management officials said the bus was traveling at a high speed when it hit a speed bump when the driver lost control of the vehicle, according to the Associated Press. Local authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the accident.
The driver lost control of the vehicle over a speed bump and it broke through a safety barrier, the state government said
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto issued a condolence message for the families of victims on his official Twitter account.
Lamento el trágico accidente ocurrido en el Puente de Atoyac, Veracruz, en el que varias personas perdieron la vida.
— Enrique Peña Nieto (@EPN) January 10, 2016
