At least 20 people have been killed and 30 others injured when a bus plunged into a ravine on a highway linking La Paz and the Yungas area.
The Trans 24 de Agosto company bus went off the highway and fell into the more than 100 metre ravine in El Castillo, located about 60km from La Paz, while heading to the coca-growing centre of Asunta.
The accident occurred on a route known popularly as the "Highway of Death" due to the frequent accidents involving buses and trucks that plunge into ravines on the narrow, winding road.
"The injured people said the brakes went out on the bus and the driver and his assistants jumped off the vehicle," a motorist who transported two of the injured to a La Paz hospital said.
Police and paramedics headed to the mountainous area where the accident occurred to help survivors and recover the bodies of the dead.
The government has been trying for years to reduce the number of traffic accidents in Bolivia.
President Evo Morales's administration enacted a law in January 2010 to crackdown on bus drivers caught working drunk, inexperienced drivers and drivers who work excessive hours.
The measure's goal is to reduce accidents, which kill an average of 1,000 people annually, according to Bolivia's International Automobile Federation.
