A series of weekend bus accidents left at least 35 people dead in Bolivia.In once incident, all thirty passengers were spared on when a local bus in the department of Santa Cruz was devoured by fire after one of the rear tires exploded.

Although the passengers managed to escape with minimal injuries, the bus was destroyed and reduced to scrap.Further south, 13 people were killed when a bus fell some 100 metres down an embankment on the Tarija-Potosi Highway. Police are investigating but say initial assessments are considering brake damage.

But the accident that claimed the most lives occurred when two buses collided on a winding road in theBolivian altiplano, killing 22 and injuring 37.Police said later in the day that the two buses hit head on, crushing the front ends of both vehicles. They said the crash happened along the road that connects Oruro and Potosi, both high altitude cities above 12,000 feet . Such bus accidents have become increasingly common in Bolivia.