At least 8 dead as bus slips into river in Nicaragua

MEXICO CITY – Authorities in Nicaragua say at least eight people have died after a bus rolled backward down a ramp and into a river.

Nicaragua's national disaster agency says eight victims were found inside the bus after it was hauled from the Rio San Juan in the southern part of the country near the Costa Rica border. A search continued for others.

The agency said in a statement Monday that witnesses described the bus taking on passengers, but rolling backward when the brakes failed. Other local press accounts suggested a rock had been placed behind the bus tire, but gave way.

Photographs of the scene in Boca de Sabalos show people in the water around the partially submerged bus while dozens more watch from the bank.