SAN SALVADOR – At least one person was killed and 20 others were injured when a bus went off a highway in central El Salvador, a police spokesman said.

The bus plunged into a ravine Saturday located off a highway that links the central provinces of Chalatenango and Cabañas.

“What we have been able to confirm is that (the accident) apparently was caused by some type of mechanical failure, leaving at least 20 people seriously injured and one person dead,” the police spokesman told Radio Nacional from the accident scene.

The Route 507 bus was traveling from Ilobasco, a city in Cabañas province, to Nombre de Jesus, a city in Chalatenango.

The injured bus passengers were taken to Ilobasco Hospital, the police spokesman said.

Investigators are trying to determine the exact cause of the accident, the police spokesman said.