At least 22 dead in Bolivia's worst road accident this year

A head-on collision between a truck and a bus on a highway in the Bolivian Andes on Saturday left 22 people dead and 16 injured in the country's worst road accident this year, police said.

Fourteen of the dead have been identified so far, police said, with Chile's foreign ministry saying at least one of its nationals was among them.

Earlier, officials said the drivers of both vehicles were among the dead.


The accident happened on a road between the Bolivian town of Patacamaya and the town of Tambo Quemado in northern Chile, Torrico told the Unitel channel.

The bus had been heading toward Chile on the busy commercial and tourism route linking the two South American countries.

The initial investigation showed that the truck had crossed into the opposite lane while trying to overtake a vehicle, traffic officer Nilo Torrico said.

"This truck made a prohibited maneuver and as a result we have this unfortunate accident," he said.

Images of the accident shared by Unitel showed the bus with its front section shattered, and the smashed truck. Some bodies were seen on the road.

First responders were working to remove bodies trapped in the destroyed vehicles, Torrico said.

Bolivia sees about 1,400 traffic deaths each year, government statistics show. Accidents are mainly due to poor driving and mechanical failures.

A collision on a busy road in southwestern Bolivia on April 4 killed 14 people and left two injured.