A multiple pile-up in Peru has killed at least 36 people on the Pan American Highway near Huarmey, about 200 miles north of the capital, Lima.

Around 70 people are also reported to be injured after a bus drifted into the opposite lane.

The bus, operated by the Murga Serrano line, was hit by three vehicles coming in the opposite direction – two buses and a truck.

The vehicle was carrying a delegation from the Christian organization the Worldwide Missionary Movement, it is reported.

“Initial investigations indicate that the driver who drifted into the opposite lane may have fallen asleep and collided with another bus,” Oscar Gonzalez, who was in charge of the rescue operation, told Reuters.

The government deployed several ambulances to the scene.

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