Buenos Aires, Mar 17 (IANS/RIA Novosti): At least 16 people were killed and 25 others injured when a passenger bus plunged into a river in Ecuador's coastal province of Guayas.
Ecuadorian daily La-Hora said the accident occurred Saturday on the El Triunfo-Bucay highway.
The bus suddenly crashed into a side-rail of a bridge and then plunged into a river.
Passengers of the bus were mostly manufacturers and traders of jeans clothing from the province of Tungurahua and were en route to a handicrafts fair in the town of Guayaquil.
Authorities launched an investigation into the bus crash.
Witnesses said poor weather conditions and heavy rain could be blamed for the tragic accident.