Peru bus crash kills 12

At least 12 people were killed and nine injured on Friday in northern Peru when a speeding bus plunged off a cliff into a river, officials said.

The bus, carrying 25 passengers in total, plunged 100 meters (330 feet) into the Huachecsa River, in the town of Chacpa, in the northern Huari province, road police said.

A police spokesman blamed the deadly crash on excessive speeds and the narrow road along the cliff.

The injured were taken to a regional hospital, he said.

The accident comes just nine days after another bus plunged into a river in midwestern Peru, killing 35 people.

According to the latest official statistics, more than 1,100 people died and more than 2,500 were injured in road accidents in Peru in 2011.

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