Peru Van Crash Cajamarca: 14 Dead, Search Continues

PERU – (Special Correspondent/Web Desk) – A Peru van crash Cajamarca route has left at least 14 people dead and five others hurt. The accident happened on Thursday when a minibus fell off a mountain road near the town of San Juan. Local officials confirmed the deaths to AFP soon after rescue teams reached the site.

Ricardo Chilon, a spokesperson for the San Juan municipality, shared the first update. He said the van had fallen into a ravine, and rescue workers were still counting the dead. The area sits more than 800 kilometers north of Lima, in the rugged Cajamarca region, where roads twist through steep hills.

Police officers and firefighters rushed to the scene to pull out bodies. Among the victims were the driver and a young child, according to Chilon. The van had been carrying 19 people in total, traveling from the San Juan district toward Ciudad de Dios, a nearby town.

Investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the crash. No official cause has been confirmed yet, but early details point to the same problems that often lead to accidents on Peru’s mountain roads.

Edson Roman, an official with the Fire Department, spoke to reporters from the crash site. He said the rescue work was extremely hard because the vehicle was stuck deep inside the ravine. Crews had to move carefully along the steep terrain to reach the wreckage.

At the time Roman spoke, six bodies had not yet been pulled from the site. Teams worked through difficult ground conditions, trying to bring closure to families who were anxiously waiting nearby.

Sadly, crashes like this are not rare in Peru. Poor road conditions play a big role. Many mountain routes lack proper barriers or paving. Weak police enforcement adds to the danger, since speeding drivers often go unchecked on narrow roads.

Human error is another major factor. Drivers push vehicles too fast around sharp turns, especially on routes with steep drops and no guardrails. These conditions turn small mistakes into deadly accidents.

The scale of the problem becomes clear when you look at nationwide numbers. Peru recorded more than 3,000 road deaths last year alone. That means road accidents remain one of the biggest safety threats in the country.

This latest tragedy in Cajamarca adds to a long list of similar accidents in Peru’s mountain regions. Families in San Juan are now left grieving, while rescue crews continue their difficult work at the crash site.

As investigators dig deeper into what happened, more details are expected to come out in the following days. For now, the focus remains on recovering the remaining bodies and supporting the injured survivors who were rushed to nearby hospitals.

Local authorities have not yet announced whether any safety measures will change following this crash. Many communities in the region continue to call for better road infrastructure and stronger oversight of public transport vehicles.