17 dead, 40 hurt in Ecuador accident

Seventeen people were killed and 40 injured on Wednesday when two buses collided on Ecuador's main Pacific coast highway, authorities said.

Seventeen people were killed and 40 injured on Wednesday when two buses collided on Ecuador's main Pacific coast highway, authorities said.

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The accident occurred shortly after dawn on a stretch of road between the cities of Guayaquil and Portoviejo.

The two buses collided head-on as one of the drivers tried to pass another vehicle, police said.

Sixteen people were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, while a 17th person died at a hospital in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city.