At least 20 dead in Ecuador bus crash

The school vehicle involved in the Friday night accident was carrying no passengers because it was not working a route at the time.

Quito (Ecuador), Jan 14: At least 20 people died and 17 were injured when a school vehicle collided with a bus in southwestern Ecuador, President Rafael Correa said.

"There are 20 people killed... and 17 injured," he said in his weekly address yesterday. "We send our solidarity to the families of those killed and injured."

The school vehicle involved in the Friday night accident was carrying no passengers because it was not working a route at the time, a source at the Integrated Security Service, or ECU-911, said.

The agency did not specify how many passengers were traveling on the bus, which belongs to an interprovincial line. An off-road vehicle was also involved in the crash on the road between the southwestern coastal towns of Yaguachi and Milagro. Road accidents are one of the leading causes of death in Ecuador.

PTI