1st LD Writethru: Bus overturn kills at least 19 in central Argentina

At least 19 people were killed and 21 injured in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday when a bus heading to neighboring Chile overturned in central Argentina's Mendoza province.

The bus, belonging to Chilean company Turbus, crashed on national highway 7, as it was going round a curve at high speed, according to a survivor.

"It was going very fast, the driver had no experience and he didn't know the route," passenger Leandro Torres said, according to the national news agency Telam.

The daily La Nacion later reported the vehicle's speedometer "registered 100 kilometers an hour at the time of the accident," confirming the driver had ignored signs setting the speed limit at 40 kph at the turn.

The "Curva del Yeso" is one of 10 dangerous curves identified by the National Gendarmerie along that highway, the daily said, calling the incident "the biggest roadway tragedy in the history of Mendoza."

Torres said he was riding in the middle of the bus, which was carrying 40 passengers, and had fallen asleep.

"I woke up when the bus was already airborne, and I felt the blow," Torres added.

In a statement, the bus company defended the driver and his assistant, which have been detained by authorities, saying "they rest well before each departure and know the route very well."

The passenger list included 32 Argentinians, four Chileans, a Haitian and a Colombian, as well as the drivers.

The injured were taken to area hospitals. Enditem