A bus driver has gone on the run after losing control of the vehicle and plummeting into a 130-foot-deep ravine in Guatemala, killing at least seven passengers and injuring over 30.

The accident took place in the municipality of Sumpango in the southern Guatemalan department of Sacatepequez on Sunday, 16th January.

Eyewitnesses claimed the bus driver was speeding when he lost control and the vehicle plummeted down a 40-metre- (131-foot-) deep ravine.

The initial death toll was reported to be five passengers. However, updates now state that at least seven have passed away. Over 30 people were reportedly injured and are undergoing medical treatment in local hospitals.

The injured victims include a minor whose state of health has been described as “delicate” by the local authorities.

The seriously-injured child was taken to the National Hospital of Chimaltenango in the Guatemalan city of the same name without a guardian, and the police are now trying to track down the younster’s relatives.

None of the deceased or injured victims’ names or ages had been revealed at the time of writing.

Meanwhile, the bus driver, who somehow survived, reportedly fled the accident scene and remains on the run. The bus driver’s identity has not been reported.

The investigation into the bus accident is ongoing.

According to the Guatemalan authorities, between five and six people die every day in the Central American country in road accidents. The Road Safety Observatory said that around 70 percent of fatalities are men.