LIMA – At least 15 people died and another 16 were injured on Friday when an interprovincial bus crashed into the Mapacho River in Peru’s southeastern Cuzco region, police officials told EFE.

The accident occurred before dawn Friday in the Ocongate district of Quispicanchi province, when the bus covering the Madre de Dios-Cuzco route went off the road and fell into the Mapacho River, police in the area said.

Some 15 passengers died on the spot, while another 16 were taken by a rescue team to medical centers in the Ocongate district.

The police, who were notified hours after the accident occurred, have not yet determined the exact causes of the crash, nor the identities of the mortal victims.

Transport accidents tend to occur in the mountains of Peru due to drivers’ carelessness, the poor mechanical condition of trucks and buses, and the deplorable state of highways in rural areas.

According to figures of the World Health Organization, or WHO, Peru annually has 15.9 traffic deaths for every 100,000 inhabitants.