Lima, June 20 (IANS): At least 30 people were killed Wednesday when a passenger bus fell off 100 metres into a ravine in Peru's Chanchamayo province, Xinhua reported.

The bus, with 54 passengers on board, was heading to Satipon town from capital Lima during pre-dawn hours just when it plunged into a ravine after the driver lost control of the vehicle.

The accident occurred near the so- called Tunnel of the Virgin, a stretch of road considered difficult due to the ravines that line the highway linking towns in central Peru, said Susana Natividad, a manage with the central tourism bus company, which owns the bus.

Rescue workers pulled 14 people from the wreckage, all of whom were seriously injured, while the remainder were still missing, said Natividad.

The rescue crew retrieved 18 bodies and are working to recover the remains of the other victims trapped by the wreckage, a source with Peru's National Police said.

Some of the bodies may have been swept away by the Tarma river, where the bus finally landed after plummeting into the ravine, police source said.