A field trip from students and their professors ended in tragedy on Saturday as their bus crashed into western Colombia, killed at least 10 people and wounded 11, their university said.
The bus driver lost control of the vehicle when it carried 26 passengers from Tolima to Quindio, according to a preliminary investigation.
More people were thrown from the bus as it slammed into the barrier on the side of the helicoil bridge in the Quindio region, said police chief Luis Fernando Atuesta.
“Several passengers were thrown out and fell into the abyss,” the officer said, adding that investigations were underway to “establish the conditions of this unfortunate accident.”
Humboldt University in the Colombian city of Armenia said in a statement that it declared two grieving days after “the painful loss of several of our colleagues, students, professors and administrators” in the accident.
The bus transported “22 students, two teachers and a communications officer,” University Director Diego Fernando Jaramillo Lopez said in a video.
Road accidents are one of the most important causes of death in Colombia, an average of 22 traffic deaths per year. Day of 2024, according to the National Highway Authority.
