At least 12 people were killed and 20 injured when a passenger bus broke through the sidewalk and fell into a river in the southeastern part of Еквадор, near the border with Peru.

The bus was moving on the line Makas-Taisha in the province Morona Santiago, when the driver lost control of the vehicle, broke through the protective fence and fell from a height of 17 meters, the state prosecutor's office said.

The ambulance found ten victims on the spot, including the driver.

A woman and a young girl later died at a local hospital, the health ministry said. writes the Daily Mail.

Residents of the village of Macas were bathing in the Colorado River when they noticed that the bus was entering a shallow part of the river, which is quite rocky.

"The bus was coming at full speed, as if it were flying, but we did not think this tragedy would happen," said one eyewitness.

One of the women who was at the scene said that she, her family and other people rushed to help the injured before the rescuers arrived.

This is the second fatal incident with a passenger bus in a week in Morona Santiago, after 18 people were killed and 25 were injured when the bus went off and overturned on the road in the canton of Sukua.