LIMA, Peru — At least 44 people died and 20 others were injured in southern Peru on Wednesday when a passenger bus fell off a cliff on the nation’s most important highway — the second such bus accident this year on the notoriously dangerous road. In January, 51 people died when a bus plunged off a cliff along a foggy stretch of road so infamous it is known as the “devil’s curve.”

Both accidents occurred on the Pan-American Highway, which stretches the length of the country parallel to the Pacific Ocean. The bus was carrying some 45 passengers, according to operator Rey Latino, but police said the figure was likely higher because additional passengers boarded along the route and did not appear in the initial register. President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Prime Minister Mercedes Aráoz took to Twitter to offer their condolences to the victims' families, and Transportation Minister Bruno Giuffra called the episode an "unfortunate accident."
A coach transiting the Pan-American Highway plunges off the road in Arequipa, Peru, killing 44 people.