At least 15 believed dead after Mexico bus crash

State officials said passenger bus ran off motorway into a ravine

The bus was carrying dozens of passengers and their families across Mexico and left the road after the driver fell asleep. Photo: Clara M de Toretto / Facebook

At least 15 people are believed to have been killed and 21 more injured in a bus crash in the western coastal Mexican state of Nayarit in the early hours of Thursday, state officials said.

Local media had earlier reported that as many as 24 could have died when the passenger bus careened off the motorway into a ravine.

“At the scene there were 21 injured people of various ages who were attended to, as well as 15 people who are presumed to be without signs of life,” Nayarit Civil Protection and Firefighters said in a post on social media.

“Work is being done to remove them from the site.”

The crash happened near Barranca Blanca on the motorway outside the state capital Tepic, officials said. They added that the Elite passenger bus was heading towards Tijuana.

Elite did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Images shared online by Nayarit officials showed ambulances lining the motorway.