EFFORTPOST Pasamayo bus crash (2018) - the deadliest one in Peru. After the bus fell down the ocean cliff (330 ft or 100 m), out of 57 passengers 51 died In the post: two videos showing the bodies (6 mins in total), more photos and news info

IIRC, this is my first post from Peru. The biggest (by death toll) accident in this country, and the one that caused the authorities to close this part of the road for trucks or buses.

⠀TIME AND PLACE

The accident took place on 2nd of January 2018 in Pasamayo, in the part of the road known as Devil's Curve (Curva del Diablo), around 42 km (or 26 mil) north of Lima. This part of the road has barely any safety barriers, and the surrounding area is often covered in fog. The cliff from which the bus fell is 100 m (330 ft) high. Other sources say around 80 m (260 ft). The second value comes from a statement by a police, that the bus fell 'more than 80 m' down. The bust belonged to San Martín de Porras company.

Location of Pasamayo and Lima (the capital):

More detailed map:

The bus was carrying 57 passengers to Lima, Peru's capital, when it was struck by a tractor-trailer shortly before noon and plunged down the slope, said Claudia Espinoza, who is with Peru's voluntary firefighter brigade.

The bus landed upside-down on a strip of shoreline next to the Pacific, the bodies of its passengers strewn among the rocks.

Scene of the accident (showing how fckng high it is):

⠀AFTERMATH (GORE IS HERE)

5 mins long video, the cameraman walks around the bus, showing the bodies and wreckage.

1 min long video. First, there is a view down the cliff, then - another clip, from the place of the crash.

Photos from the rescue operation:

TV News with a few clips from the rescue operation. Some of them match the photos above.

⠀CONSEQUENCES

Explanations came after arresting the driver of this vehicle hitting the bus:

Mr Killahuamán was taken into police custody after the accident, last Tuesday.

Peruvian prosecutors accused him of manslaughter. The driver has not been charged, but a judge has agreed to keep him in preventive detention for nine months.

Mr Killahuamán said he was driving at about 50 km/h (30 mph), just above the legal speed limit for the road, when his lorry hit the bus, which was travelling towards the capital, Lima, in the opposite direction.

He said that the bend was too sharp and that he could not see the coach approaching. He stopped, along with other lorry drivers, to try to help the victims, he added.

The accident resulted in legal changes, too:

Christian César Killahuamán, 40, told police that the lorry veered into the opposite lane at the sharp and narrow Curva del Diablo (devil's bend).

He said one of its wheels touched the coach, which went off the road and landed upside down on a beach.

The accident happened in a notoriously dangerous stretch of coastal road, the Serpentín Pasamayo.

The Peruvian government has since closed the road to buses and coaches. They will have to use a safer inland road, which the government plans to widen.

⠀ABOUT THE SURVIVORS

Six passengers survived the accident, including a man who jumped through a window, seconds before the coach plummeted 100m (330ft) down the cliff.

A video published on Twitter by Peruvian news channel ATV+ showed the 21-year-old man hanging on to the cliff while people tell him to "stay put" and not to move until help arrives.

Máximo Jiménez Vilcayaure managed to climb up the cliff after a rope was lowered to him.

Doctors said he later checked himself into hospital "after getting there by his own means", where he was treated for a broken arm.

Other sources claim that the survivor, Max Francis Jiménez Vilcayauri, was 24 yo. Another inconsistence is the way he got out. One source precize that he was ejected through the window, not jumping on his will, and that's what he told Regional Director of Health of Huaura. Claims that he jumped out after realizing they're gonna crash were initial and incorrect reports. Apart from scratches and bruises, his only injury was broken left arm.

Photos:

From 0;20 onwards, you can see a video of him clinging to the rock:

List of the survivors in general:

1. Ganser Eduardo Cordova Pachetes, 20 yo. Polytrauma.

2. Carlos Ramos Vásquez, 40 yo. Multiple open fractures, in shock.

3. Lenin Vances Díaz, 26 yo. Multiple open fractures.

4. Kevin Brian Villalobos Rojas, 27 yo. Multiple open fractures.

5. Javier Martín Quispe Soto, 33 yo. Multiple open fractures.

6. Max Jiménez Vilcayauri, 24 yo. Broken arm.

⠀SOURCES

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-42615814

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5259447/peru-devil-curve-image-drop-bus pictures

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/world/americas/peru-bus-plunge.html

https://ojo.pe/policial/la-verdadera-historia-del-hombre-de-acero-sobreviviente-caida-de-bus-en-pasamayo-250709-noticia

https://rpp.pe/lima/accidentes/video-el-momento-en-un-que-joven-lucha-por-salvar-su-vida-en-pasamayo-noticia-1097813 (video)

https://elpopular.pe/actualidad-y-policiales/2018-01-02-pasamayo-lista-de-sobrevivientes-de-bus-que-cayo-abismo-en-la-curva-del-diablo