International Desk : At least 16 people have been killed when a bus rolled off a ledge in the mountainous Ayacucho region in Peru, authorities said.

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The bus was carrying more than 40 passengers high in the Andes, where such tragedies are not uncommon.

Ayacucho official Wiber Vega said that 13 bodies had already been recovered and three more had yet to be retrieved from under the bus. "Yes, we have 16 dead," he said.

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Vega said that bad weather including falling hail was delaying the recovery of the remaining bodies.

The crash happened early Tuesday as the bus was traveling from Lima to the city of Ayacucho on a zigzag stretch of the Libertadores highway, the health ministry said in a statement.

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The bus overturned and rolled down a slope, landing upside down.

Such accidents are frequent in Peru due to drivers going too fast on poorly maintained roads, among other issues.

On April 30, at least 25 people died after a bus fell into a ravine in the Cajamarca region.

Sun News/MR

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