Bus crash survivors in hospital

Tributes have been paid this morning to the five young women killed in a bus crash in Ecuador.

Four teenage gap year students and one 26-year-old died when a lorry carrying sand crashed into the side of the bus they were travelling in. The bus was going from Quito, the Ecuador capital, to a fishing village near the coast.

12 Britons were also injured in the crash, suffering broken bones, concussion and cuts. They have been flown to Quito for treatment in hospital.

The driver of the lorry which crashed into the bus fled the scene

Four of the victims were taking a year off between school and university. They have been named as Emily Sadler, 19; Rebecca Logie, 19; Indira, Swann, 18; Elizabeth Pincock, 19.

Sarah Howard, 26, who also died, was a freelance trip leader. She was on her first expedition for VentureCo, the company which organised the trip.

A spokesman for the prime minister, Gordon Brown, said: "The prime minister was deeply saddened to hear of the deaths of five young British people in Ecuador. His thoughts are with their families and friends."

A representative of VentureCo is travelling out to Ecuador to meet the injured survivors in Quito.

VentureCo director Mark Davison said the group were reaching the end of an eight-hour journey when the accident occurred. They were due to build sanitation and other facilities for a crèche in Puerto Lopez, a poor fishing village.

"It's most unexpected to have an accident there," Mr Davison said. He promised that he would "gauge the temperature" about whether the rest of the group wanted to continue or return home.

Mark Davison, director of VentureCo, said the group were reaching the end of an eight-hour journey when the accident occurred. They were due to build sanitation and other facilities for a crèche in Puerto Lopez, a poor fishing village.

"It's most unexpected to have an accident there," Mr Davison said. He promised that he would "gauge the temperature" about whether the rest of the group wanted to continue or return home.

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