A passenger bus plunged into a steep ravine on Thursday in a mountainous area of Peru, killing at least 40 and injuring 22, police said.

The National Police's highway protection director, General Enrique Medri, told RPP radio that eight of those injured in the accident on the Espinar-Santo Tomas highway, near the town of Velille in the Peruvian Andes, were in serious condition.