At least 17 dead after bus tumbles down steep hillside in Mexico

MEXICO CITY — At least 17 passengers were killed when a bus left the highway and tumbled down a steep hillside in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit early Thursday, Mexican authorities said.

The state public safety agency said that rescuers were still working to remove people from the bus and that the death toll was preliminary. Twenty-two passengers were injured, it said in a statement posted to its Facebook page.

The accident occurred near Tepic, the state capital.

Local media outlets reported that the bus was travelling from Mexico City to the border city of Tijuana.