10 killed in bus crash during university trip in Colombia

(AFP): A field trip by students and their professors ended in tragedy Saturday when their bus crashed in western Colombia, killing at least 10 people and injuring 11, their university said.

The bus driver lost control of the vehicle as it carried 26 passengers from Tolima to Quindio, according to a preliminary investigation.

Several people were thrown from the bus when it slammed into the barrier on the side of the Helicoil Bridge in the Quindio region, police commander Luis Fernando Atuesta said.

"Several passengers were ejected and fell into the abyss," the officer said, adding that investigations were underway to "establish the conditions of this unfortunate accident."

Humboldt University in the Colombian city of Armenia said in a statement that it was declaring two days of mourning after "the painful loss of several of our colleagues, students, professors and administrators" in the accident.

The bus was carrying "22 students, two teachers and a communications officer," university director Diego Fernando Jaramillo Lopez said in a video.

Road accidents are one of the main causes of death in Colombia, which averaged 22 traffic deaths per day in 2024, according to the national highway authority.