Bolivia suffers third big bus crash in 3 days

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) -- Two passenger buses have crashed head-on along a new highway in Bolivia, raising the country's three-day bus crash death toll to 56.

Police say Thursday's crash killed 17 people and injured 34 near the eastern town of Taperas on a newly built highway to Brazil.

Officials say 18 people died on Monday when a bus plunged into a flood-swollen river near the capital of La Paz.

Twenty-one died when a bus ran off a road on a hill near Challapata in southern Bolivia.

Bad roads, bad drivers, poorly maintained vehicles and heavy rains contribute to many crashes.

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