50 die after bus plunges off road in southern Brazil

Brazilian authorities on Sunday put the death toll at 50 after a bus carrying worshipers to a religious event plummeted into a ravine on Saturday.

The bus veered out of a curve and plunged more than 1,100 feet in the rural area of Serra Dona Francisca, the Joenville Secretary of Regional Development said. About a dozen people were injured.

All but four of the bodies of the deceased have been recovered.

Rescuers responded to the accident with 15 ambulances and a helicopter, CNN affiliate TV Record reported. Four children are among the injured, the broadcaster reported.

The annual rate of road accident deaths in Brazil is roughly double that of the United States, according to the World Health Organization. An estimated 43,869 people died there in traffic accidents in 2010.