People help the injured passengers of a bus after it crashed in Paraty, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil on September 6, 2015. At least 15 people died and 40 were injured Sunday when a bus crashed in the Brazilian resort town of Paraty, state officials told AFP. (File photo by CARLOS VALIM / FOLHA DO LITORAL NORTE / AFP)
Twenty-three people died Sunday when a bus on a remote mountain road in Brazil’s Alagoas state dived into a ravine, regional authorities said.
Rescue services confirmed that 22 died at the scene and another person — a pregnant woman — succumbed after being taken to hospital, the Alagoas state government said in a statement.
Brazilian media said “dozens” of people were injured, and that the bus had been carrying 40 passengers.
The accident occurred near the town of Uniao dos Palmares.
State governor Paulo Dantas declared on the social media platform X three days of mourning over the “tragedy.”
The bus went off the road in an area difficult to access, in a mountainous area called Serra da Barriga.
The regional Mata Hospital declined to give AFP information on the number of dead and wounded it had received.