A holiday Labour Day weekend turned tragic on Friday (May 1) as at least 11 people died and 31 others were injured when a tourist bus crashed in Mexico's western state of Nayarit.

The bus, travelling from the state of Jalisco, veered off the highway and overturned near the town of Amatlan de Canas, the Nayarit state government said.

According to officials, the passengers were on their way to a recreational center in Nayarit. Emergency crews from Nayarit and Jalisco responded, closing the road to conduct rescue operations and investigate the cause of the accident, near the bus on its side and covered in mud.

Deadly bus crashes are frequent in Latin America and on Mexico's highways. In September, at least 10 people were killed and at least 61 were injured in central Mexico when a freight train smashed into a double-decker passenger bus. In February 2025, more than 40 people were killed in southern Mexico when a bus travelling to Tabasco from the tourist city of Cancun hit a trailer truck and caught fire.

Buses are a major mode of transport in Mexico, where passenger rail routes are limited. The government of President Claudia Sheinbaum is working to dramatically expand the nation's passenger rail network to connect many parts of northern and central Mexico.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

AMATLAN DE CANAS, NAYARIT, MEXICO (MAY 1, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF RESCUERS AND FORENSIC EXPERTS WORKING AROUND CRASHED BUS

2. FORENSIC EXPERT WALKING NEXT TO BODY OF ONE OF THE VICTIMS COVERED WITH WHITE SHEET

3. EMERGENCY VEHICLES, RESCUERS WALKING ALONG ROAD

4. PEOPLE ASKING DRIVERS TO SLOW DOWN AS THEY PASS AREA NEAR ACCIDENT

5. CRASHED BUS

6. FORENSIC EXPERT NEXT TO CRASHED BUS

7. FORENSIC EXPERTS ENTERING ACCIDENT SITE WITH STRETCHER TO RECOVER BODIES

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OPERATIONAL DIRECTOR OF NAYARIT STATE FIRE DEPARTMENT, ENRIQUE RODRIGUEZ, SAYING:

“Early this morning, Friday, May 1, my regional command post C5, reported a bus fire —a bus carrying tourists who were travelling from Tlaquepaque, in the state of Jalisco, to Rosario and El Manto.”

9. FORENSIC EXPERTS AROUND FORENSIC SERVICE VEHICLE

10. POLICE GUARDING ROAD

11. PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ASKING DRIVERS TO SLOW DOWN

12. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OPERATIONAL DIRECTOR OF NAYARIT STATE FIRE DEPARTMENT, ENRIQUE RODRIGUEZ, SAYING:

"There are five, five people who have died in the hospital and six at the scene, we have a total of 11 people dead and around 25 injured, between 25 and 31 injured."

13. BODY BEING LOADED ONTO FORENSIC VEHICLE