At Least 15 People Dead, 21 Others Injured After Bus Veers Off the Road and Plunges into a Ravine

At least 15 people have died and many others were hurt after a passenger bus plunged into a deep ravine in western Guatemala.

The intermunicipal bus was traveling along a stretch of the Interamerican Road in Totonicapán when it veered off the roadway and fell into the ravine on Friday, Dec. 26, according to the Associated Press, Reuters and ABC News.

Authorities said 15 passengers were killed, while 21 others were taken to local hospitals for treatment, according to those outlets.

Rescue crews worked for more than two hours at the crash site, recovering bodies and helping injured passengers reach safety, the Associated Press reported.

Reuters, citing local firefighters spokesperson Leandro Amado, said the victims included 11 men, three women, and one minor whose sex was not disclosed.

Teams from the Guatemalan army and emergency responders, along with personnel from the General Directorate of Road Protection and Safety, coordinated the evacuation of the wounded and managed traffic flow in the area, according to the Government of Guatemala.

President Bernardo Arévalo addressed the tragedy in a statement shared on social media. “I profoundly regret the tragedy which happened along the Interamerican Route,” he said, adding that officials were coordinating efforts to support those affected.

Arévalo later announced three days of national mourning for the victims, according to a social media update, and said an inter-institutional operation had been launched to provide assistance to survivors and families.

In a follow-up update, Arévalo said that 15 people remained hospitalized, two had been transferred to another hospital, and four had been discharged.

Guatemala’s steep terrain and inconsistent enforcement of transportation rules contribute to frequent road accidents, the Associated Press noted.

The National Transportation Safety Observatory reported in October that 446 public transportation vehicles were involved in crashes in Guatemala in 2025, resulting in 111 deaths and more than 600 injuries.