Graduation trip turns tragic as bus plunges into ravine in Colombia, killing 16 students

What began as a celebratory journey for graduating students ended in disaster on Sunday when their bus plunged into a ravine in northwest Colombia, leaving multiple families mourning and dozens injured. At least 16 high school students celebrating their graduation and a driver were killed when the bus they were travelling in fell around 40 metres into a ravine.

The students, aged 16 to 18, were from a school in Bello, near Medellin, and had been returning from a Caribbean beach on Colombia’s coast.

Twenty more people were injured in the crash. A source in the Bello mayor’s office told AFP that officials were still working to determine how many of the victims were minors. Antioquia Department Governor Andres Julian Rendon said the cause of the accident remained under investigation.

In a video posted by Rendon on social media, one of the survivors said, “I was asleep and all of a sudden I heard screams, and from that moment on I don’t remember anything.” The students had paid their way to the Caribbean beach towns of Tolu and Covenas to celebrate graduation. Rescuers were forced to carry survivors out of the steep ravine on stretchers.

Security concerns during rescue operations

President Gustavo Petro offered condolences to the affected families in a post on X, saying, “I don’t like it when young people die. Even less when they’re going to study or to relax happily.”

A police source told AFP that the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerilla group operates in the area where the crash occurred, requiring firefighters and officers to take special security measures during the rescue. ELN rebels ordered civilians to avoid commercial travel for 72 hours in regions under their control starting Sunday, as they conduct military exercises.

Road authorities reported that Colombia recorded an average of 22 traffic-related deaths a day in 2024.