Tragedy in Peru: at least 20 dead in the fire of a bus in a passenger terminal in Lima

At least twenty people died and seven others were injured this Sunday when a bus suddenly burned in an informal station in Lima, according to the information provided to the Agency Efe sources of the National Police of Peru (PNP).

The fire occurred around 19:30 local time (00:30 GMT) Sunday in a bus from the company Sajy Bus that was preparing to make the connection between Lima and Chiclayo, located about 800 km north of the Peruvian capital.

When I was about to leave, the bus started to catch fire at the back, where is the engine and soon the flames covered the entire vehicle, according to the version of some witnesses to the local media.

Most of the victims died on the first floor of the bus while they were trying to escape the firebut only a few pbadengers were able to exit through side windows. The second floor of the unit was completely burned.

The fire has already been extinguished by firefighters, which has moved eight units to the Fiori bus terminal, an informal train station that operates in front of the northern terminal, in the Lima district of San Martín de Porres, where official companies travel to northern Peru.

In the next few minutes, a prosecutor should arrive to complete the relevant proceedingsamong them, the identification of most corpses and their respective uprisings.

The wounded were transferred to the Cayetano Heredia Clinic, which is close to where this tragedy occurred.

Among the wounded, some with "very serious" burns and smoke inhalation, there is a girl whose mother is apparently dead, according to the fire chief, Mario Casaretto.

"The bodies are burned, we hope that further investigations can determine the cause of this unfortunate fire," Casaretto commented.

The authorities have not yet found the bus driver, whose cabin door is open.

(With information from EFE)