Quito: Families in Ecuador on Saturday were mourning victims of a bus accident that killed at least 41 people on Friday.
Seven children were among the dead.
Rescue officials said around 30 passengers had survived after the bus plunged into a steep ravine, but had been injured, some of them badly.
"There's been a very serious accident with approximately 41 people killed," National Transport Council (CNT) director Ricardo Anton told reporters.
Earlier reports put the death toll at 35.
Fernando Gandarillas, a spokesman for the Ecuadoran Red Cross, told AFP the bus had fallen into a ravine as it negotiated a descent.
It was travelling on Friday from the capital Quito to the eastern towns of Chone and San Isidro, he said.
A police chief from a nearby town of El Carmen, Diego Iniguez, told journalists the bus had been filled over capacity and appeared to have experienced a gearbox problem before the driver lost control.
President Rafael Correa denounced "the irresponsibility of the driver who crashed with more than 70 passengers" on board.
"He picked up passengers along the road, which is prohibited," Correa told a meeting with his staff. "It's a well-designed highway," he added.
One survivor told television station Ecuavisa that just before the accident a woman at the front of the bus had started screaming that the driver could not shift gears.
He said the driver appeared to attempt to keep control of the vehicle, but failed and the bus rolled over for some 200 metres before hitting a tree then dropping into the ravine.
The bus belonged to the east Ecuadoran coach company Reina del Camino. CNT director Anton said its operations had been suspended.
