(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-01 10:12

BOGOTA - Five people died and 18 more were injured Monday when a bus fell into a ravine in the northeastern Colombian department of Atioquia, highway police said.

Police said the bus was speeding at 60kph in La Linea, where the speed limit is 40 kph due to the steep, narrow roads around the cliffs. Frequent fog and rain, caused by drastic changes in altitude, have also made the highway in the area very dangerous.

Authorities have closed the La Linea road at km 19 where rescuers are lifting the injured and the dead out of the 80-meter ravine.

Road accidents are the second major cause of death in Colombia after murder.