VERACRUZ, Mexico — An overcrowded bus speeding home from a religious festival veered off a highway emergency ramp and crashed through a metal barrier Monday, plunging more than 650 feet into a ravine. At least 67 people were killed, including four children.
Four people survived the plunge from the highway, considered one of the 15 most dangerous in Mexico. The bus had already traveled for more than 10 hours as it returned from an Easter gathering in the western city of Guadalajara to the passengers' home state of Tabasco, on the Gulf Coast.
Rescuers ended their search for victims after recovering 63 bodies, state attorney general official Rosa Elvira Gonzalez said. She said four people died at hospitals. Officials did not say if the driver survived.
The bus, equipped to hold 46 passengers, was carrying 71, some of whom were standing, said Federal Preventive Police Cmdr. Reinaldo Ascencio Cavazos. He said the owner of the bus was detained for questioning.
An 8-year-old girl was among the survivors.
Ascencio said the passengers belonged to two religious groups the Guadalajara-based Light of the World and Pentecostes.
In Guadalajara, Light of The World spokesman Sara Susana Pozos said those killed were not members of her church.
Pozos said police might have been confused because some of the female bus passengers wore long clothing and carried Bibles, like many of those faithful to The Light of the World.
Police did not immediately know what caused the crash.
The bus was thought to be traveling at about 68-70 mph. Buses often are required to limit their speed to 60 mph.
Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans filled the highways Sunday and Monday as they returned from Easter week vacations. The holiday typically sees a large number of highway deaths.
The highway where the bus was traveling is considered to be one of the 15 most dangerous in the country, Federal Preventive Police official Arturo Corona said.
The Light of the World church has seen its share of deadly accidents in the past. In August 2002, a crowded bus carrying Light of The World church members to a re-enactment of the Last Supper in Guadalajara tore through a toll booth and crashed into a cement wall in Michoacan state, killing 33 people.
Eight Light of the World pilgrims were killed a day later when another bus heading to the Guadalajara extravaganza also crashed.