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Bus Crash In Mexico Leaves 43 Dead

There's another bit of tragic news to report today: 43 people are dead after a truck crashed into a passenger bus in eastern Mexico today. Authorities told the AFP that the incident happened after a trailer came loose and hit a bus carrying agricultural workers headed to work.

The AP reports:

"The accident occurred on a winding stretch of highway near the town of Alamo in the northern part of the state. Another 17 people were still hospitalized on Friday, she said.

"Dominguez said the truck driver fled the scene and was being sought by authorities."

The AFP reports that road accidents are big cause of death in Mexico. 24,000 people die a year, which amounts to almost double the people who die from drug violence. Earlier this month, the AFP adds, "14 sugar cane workers died and nine were hurt when the bus they were traveling in crashed into a tree and overturned, also in Jalisco."

Twenty others were injured in this accident.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.