Scene of Peru accident
Scene of Peru accidentReuters

At least 48 people were killed in Peru on Tuesday when a bus fell down a cliff onto a rocky beach along a narrow stretch of highway known as the “Devil’s Curve”, The Guardian reports.

The bus was carrying 57 passengers to Peru’s capital when it was struck by a tractor trailer shortly before noon and plunged down the slope, a member of Peru’s voluntary firefighter brigade said.

The blue bus came to rest upside down on a narrow strip of shore next to the Pacific, the lifeless bodies of passengers strewn among the rocks.

Rescuers were working to pull victims from the hard-to-reach area in Pasamayo, which located about 70 kilometers (43 miles) north of Lima.

No road leads directly to the beach, complicating rescue efforts, officials said, but police and firefighters managed to transport five survivors with serious injuries to a nearby hospital.

The passengers in Tuesday’s crash included many who were returning to Lima after celebrating the New Year’s holiday with family outside the city, according to The Guardian.

The highway is known as the “Devil’s Curve” because it is narrow, frequently shrouded in mist and curves along a cliff that has seen numerous accidents.