A bus carrying students, parents and teachers from a dance school flipped on a provincial highway in Argentina, killing at least 15 people on Monday (June 26), reports Fox News quoting officials.

Nine adolescents and the driver were among those killed in Mendoza province, about 620 miles west of Buenos Aires. Another 21 people were hospitalized with injuries in area clinics, including four minors, said provincial health minister Claudia Najul.

Survivors told local news media that the bus was traveling at a high rate of speed with about 50 passengers aboard when it apparently struck the side of a hill on a curvy road, causing the vehicle to turn over.

The dance institute students from Buenos Aires province were returning from a dance tournament in the city of San Rafael in Mendoza province. Local media published photos of teenagers and children among the group playing in the snow in the Andes mountains cordilleras on their way home.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri announced two days of national mourning for Tuesday (June 27) and Wednesday (June 28). 

Deadly highway crashes are frequent in Argentina. About 20 people were killed earlier in February when a bus traveling at a high rate of speed from Mendoza to Santiago, Chile flipped over. In the same month, twelve people died after two buses collided head-on in Santa Fe province.

BDST: 0919 HRS, JUN 27, 2017
SI