15 dead after bus falls down Peru ravine

At least 15 people have died and as many were injured when a bus plunged into a ravine in the Peruvian Andes.

The accident occurred about noon at Kilometer 60 on the central highway, which links the Andean town of Tarma with Peru's central jungle region, the police chief in the town of San Ramon, Julio Santos, told RPP Noticias radio on Monday.

"The vehicle ... fell into a ravine between 30 and 40 metres deep" leading down to the Tarma River, he said.

The cause is being investigated.

Such accidents are common in Peru, mostly caused by driver error, the poor state of roads and vehicles, and by rough rural conditions, particularly in the mountains.