At least 14 killed in bus accident in central Ecuador

QUITO - A total of 14 people were killed and 26 were injured after a road accident on Friday night, involving a passenger bus travelling from Quito to La Mana, the country's emergency service, ECU 911, announced on Saturday.

The accident was reported to ECU 911 at 9:44 p.m. by a citizen who alerted authorities about a bus being on fire along the highway, ECU 911's national operations director, Diego Ripalda, told the press.

According to local media, the bus turned over and caught fire, causing the victims to be trapped inside by the flames. The injured people were taken to various hospitals around the capital Quito.

"Immediately upon learning of the event, response units from the Ministry of Public Health, the corps of firefighters and from the national police were activated, and arrived in under 10 minutes," Ripalda said.

Cristian Barreiro, an expert from the Road Accidents Investigations Service (SIAT), announced that a team had analyzed the area and determined that the accident was caused by an impact, followed by the overturning and the bus leaving the road.

Road accidents are one of the main causes of death in Ecuador, with the government blaming poor driving and excessive speeds.