A statement was given yesterday by Britain’s Foreign Office concerning a tragic bus crash over the weekend in Ecuador. Four British students and their tour guide were killed and 15 others were injured.

Students Indira Swann, 18, Lizzie Pincock, 19, Rebecca Logie, 19, Emily Sadler, 19 and travel company guide Sarah Howard, 26 were all killed after their bus collided with a truck. The rest of the victims, twelve Britons, a French national and two Ecuadorians were reported with whiplash, minor facial and leg injuries.

All the survivors were transported for medical support to hospitals in the capital Quito.

 The group was involved in a unique 15-week trip. They had almost finished their third week, and were heading from Quito to the city of Puerto Lopez, at the time of the accident. Their tasks for the mission included language tuition and the completion of a series of volunteer projects. 

One of the survivors was quoted by BBC: "I was asleep, as were most of the people on the bus. I remember a big bang and the whole bus shook, and everything just stopped."

One of the victims, Emma Sadler, was described by her devastated parents to have been "… a beautiful, bubbly girl with her whole life ahead of her,” and "the kind of girl that everybody loved." Also adding: “Her loss is indescribable," as quoted by BBC. The 19-year-old attended North London Collegiate School in Edgware and was set out to join the Manchester University to study history.

According to Reuters, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced through his spokesman to be “deeply saddened” by the events. "His thoughts are with their families and friends," the spokesman added.