Peru coach plunges off Pan-American Highway killing dozens

A coach travelling along the Pan-American Highway in Peru has plunged off the road, killing at least 30 people, emergency officials say.

The accident happened at 01:30 local time (06:30 GMT) near the Ocaño bridge in Peru's southern Arequipa province.

Local media said the coach had fallen from a height that was variously described to be between 80m (260ft) and 200m (650ft).

Last month, 52 people died when another coach fell down a cliff in Peru.

In Wednesday's incident, the coach, which reportedly belongs to the Rey Latino company, was taking passengers from the town of Chala to the city of Arequipa.

A passenger list suggests at least 45 people had signed up for the journey but more could have joined on the way.

Arequipa civil defence official Jacqueline Choque said she had received reports that more than 30 people had died.

She told Peru's RPP News that "17 or 18 people" had been rescued and taken to hospital.

The cause of the accident is not yet known.

It comes seven weeks after another deadly accident on the Pan-American Highway north of the capital, Lima.

In that case, a lorry driver clipped the coach, causing the latter to veer off the road and down a steep cliff.