Bush crash kills 19 in central Argentina

At least 19 people were killed and 21 injured in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday when a bus heading to neighboring Chile overturned in central Argentina's Mendoza province.

The bus, belonging to Chilean company Turbus, crashed on national highway 7, as it was going round a curve at high speed, according to a survivor.

"It was going very fast, the driver had no experience and he didn't know the route," passenger Leandro Torres said, according to the national news agency Telam.

Torres said he was riding in the middle of the bus, which was carrying 40 passengers, and had fallen asleep.

"I woke up when the bus was already airborne, and I felt the blow," Torres added.

In a statement, the bus company defended the driver and his assistant, which have been detained by authorities, saying "they rest well before each departure and know the route very well."

The passenger list included 32 Argentinians, four Chileans, a Haitian and a Colombian, as well as the drivers.

"We don't have enough information to determine the cause of this event, which ended up with the bus turning over," the company said.

The injured were taken to area hospitals.

source: Xinhua