A devastating bus accident in Peru's mountainous Andes region has left at least 13 people dead and another five seriously injured after the vehicle plunged off the road on Saturday morning, AFP reported. 

The tragedy unfolded as the bus, carrying approximately 50 passengers, departed from the Andean town of Vilcashuaman on its way to the capital city of Lima. The fatal crash occurred near the town of Huancavelica in the southeast, where the bus overturned and plummeted 200 meters down a precipice.

"We are reporting thirteen dead and five seriously injured after a bus crashed and fell into a precipice on the Los Libertadores highway," an officer from the Huaytara district police station in Huancavelica said.

The scene of the accident was described as chaotic, with scattered bodies and emergency responders striving to carry out a challenging rescue operation. 

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Back in April, a bus traveling between the Peruvian cities of Huanuco and the country's capital Lima crashed and sank into a river, killing ten people and injuring another 25.