At least 37 dead and dozens injured in bus crash in Bolivia

By Monica Machicao and Daniel Ramos

A crash involving two buses in Bolivia left at least 37 people dead and dozens injured in the western Potosi region, police and local authorities said on Saturday.

The accident happened during the early morning hours on the route between the cities of Uyuni and Colchani, when one of the vehicles swerved into the oncoming lane.

"As a result of this fatal accident we have 39 people injured in four hospitals in the town of Uyuni, and 37 people have lost their lives," a spokesman for the Departmental Police Command of Potosi told reporters.

Police personnel are working to identify people who were killed and those who were injured and hospitalized, the spokesperson added.

At the scene, a crane turned over one of the buses, which had rolled over onto its side, and police officers were seen removing bodies from the crashed vehicles and carrying them away wrapped in blankets.

According to the preliminary investigation, one of the buses encroached into the oncoming lane, presumably due to speeding, and caused the collision, the Bolivian Ministry of Government said in a statement.