Lima/Peru/UNI: About 24 people were killed as a passenger bus in southwest Peru's Huancavelica province went off the road early on Monday, plunging 200 meters into a ravine, reports the local media.

Around 1:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT) the accident occurred in the mountainous area in Churcampa province.

The accident claimed the life of a few minors, News broadcaster Radio Programas del Peru reported, citing the Churcampa Integrated Health Network.

The injured were taken to hospitals in the towns of Huancayo, Pampas and Ayacucho.

Manuel Zevallos, the district mayor of Anco, told the radio station that the road has been in poor condition for at least a month as a result of an avalanche in the area.