At least 55 people were killed in a bus crash in Guatemala in the early hours of Monday, making it one of the deadliest road accidents in Latin America in recent years.
The bus, carrying around 70 people, crashed through a guard rail in Guatemala City and plunged into a river. The authorities have been working to identify the victims, with most of the victims already identified, according to Andres Lemus, the local Red Cross spokesperson.
"This involves the person being identified through the National Civil Police System records, or through their fingerprints," said Lemus.
The bus, which was over 30 years old according to authorities, is believed to have been speeding when the brakes failed. Many of the public transportation buses in Guatemala are former school buses from the U.S.
"In a video shown on the local news, it can be seen that the brakes are no longer working and the bus is going at such a high speed that it crashes into several cars," said the driver's uncle, who was at the morgue to identify and retrieve the driver’s body.
The sudden disaster has left families and friends in deep grief.
"It hurts my heart so much that my daughter died. She didn't have to die. What can I do now? Finish raising my granddaughters," said the mother of one of the victims.
In response to the tragedy, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo declared three days of national mourning.
At least 55 dead in Guatemala bus crash
At least 55 dead in Guatemala bus crash
Esko Aho, former Finnish prime minister, has stressed the importance of mutual understanding and cooperation between Asia and Europe, values he said underpin the importance of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2026.
In an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Esko Aho, who was in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, for the BFA annual conference, emphasized the need for greater understanding between Asia and Europe as the two continents pursue closer economic and political ties.
"I think when looking at Europe and Asia, there are a lot of similarities. We are technology-oriented. We have a lot of common interests to keep world trade to be fair and open. But then we also have differences. It's very important that Asia understands European minds and vice versa. For us, it's very important to understand the Asian minds in order to do good business, or to be good in politics, you have to be able to recognize these differences," he said.
On the role that Finland and the Nordic region can play in building up that understanding, he emphasized their predisposition to trust.
"The level of trust is very high in all Nordic countries. That is something which is making a difference in Europe, but I can say that even globally, it's very difficult to identify any other part of the globe where a level of trust between people is so high as it is in the Nordic region," he said.
Founded in 2001, the BFA has grown into a key platform for addressing Asian issues and strengthening cooperation both within the region and globally.
Aho described the forum as a window for the world to better understand China and a platform for exchanging views on global trends, adding that such dialogue helps foster cooperation and the development of common rules.
"It has been a window to see what's going on in China. For foreigners, it's a great opportunity to understand internal processes in China. This is a place for dialogue, so that we foreigners, we feel that when we are coming here, we are able to tell from our perspective, how do we see the world's global trends and developments. And in that way, let's say, to learn, to work together, which is so important in the future, because I cannot see that we are able to solve the problems of the world without having collaboration. We need collaboration and common rules," he said.
Themed "Shaping a Shared Future: New Dynamics, New Opportunities, New Cooperation", this year's BFA annual conference is scheduled to run from Tuesday to Friday. It will focus on four core topics and feature more than 50 sub-forums, roundtables and dialogue sessions.
Boao Forum boosts mutual understanding between Europe, Asia: former Finnish PM
