QUITO, April 16, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A bus veered off the road and plunged into a ravine in southern Ecuador Wednesday, killing 14 people and injuring at least 29, emergency officials said.

The accident happened in the Molleturo area in the Andean province of Azuay, whose capital Cuenca is Ecuador's third most populous city.

"At this time, the number of people who have died on the Cuenca-Molleturo highway has risen to 14, and the number of injured to 29," Ecuador's emergency service ECU911 wrote on X late Wednesday.

"Personnel from the coordinated agencies are at the scene searching for more people who may have lost their lives," it added, without specifying the number of passengers on the bus.

Traffic accidents are among the leading causes of death in the South American country, where more than 2,000 people died in road accidents last year, compared to a record 2,373 deaths in 2023, according to official figures.