Guatemalan president declares national mourning after deadly bus crash

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) – Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo declared a national mourning on Monday after a bus accident in Calzada La Paz, which claimed at least 50 lives and left several others injured.

"The tragedy at the Belize Bridge is a national pain that I deeply regret. I stand in solidarity with the families of the victims who woke up to heartbreaking news today," Arevalo wrote on X.

He said he had ordered the deployment of personnel from the National Army and the National Coordinating Agency for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) to assist in rescue efforts.

The accident occurred in the early hours of Monday, when an extra-urban bus plunged into a ravine beneath the Belize Bridge in Zone 6 of Guatemala City.

According to the municipal firefighters, around 5:00 am local time, the bus driver lost control, crashed into several cars, and fell into a polluted river at the bottom of a ravine approximately 20 meters deep.