Tragic accident in southern Brazil: at least seven dead and eight injured when bus derails and falls into ravine

Even seven people died etc eight were seriously injured after a bus overturned and fell into a ravine in the state of Paraná, in southern Brazil.

The sinner It happened on a highway in the municipality of Marechal Cándido Rondónwithin Paraná and about 600 kilometers from the capital, Curitiba.

“A bus from the Municipal Secretary of Health, that carrying between 15 and 20 peoplelost control and fell from a ravine, “Carlos de Gerais, one of the firefighters working at the scene, explained to local channels. The numbers are still unclear as personnel are working on finding the bodies. .

As confirmed by a spokesman for the Health Consortium of the Municipality of Western Paraná (Consamu), seven people died immediately after the tragedy, including the driver of the vehicle. So far it has been reported that at least eight other crew members have been injured with varying degrees of severity and the search for another body has not been excluded.

At this time, various rescue teams, the Fire Department, Civil Defense and Civil and Highway Police were working at the scene to assist the victims, while a helicopter from the Health Consortium was mobilized to support the evacuation. injured from more severe severity nearby. health centers.

The victims, that is patients and officials of the Ministry of Healthwas admitted to various hospitals in the region.

According to Consamu, the causes of the accident are being investigated, but preliminary information suggests that the bus driver lost control of the vehicle at a point with poor visibility on the highway and fell into the ravine, located in a very difficult area. access.

For its part, Highway Police reported that it was in the middle of the investigative stage to find out if a second vehicle was involved in the accident. As reported, there were “strong indications” that a truck may have run into the bus from the side and left the scene without providing assistance.

a similar accident

At the end of March and in the same southern town of Paraná, another bus had a similar accident on Brazilian highways.

There, the bus driver lost control and descended into a precipice on a very sharp curve. The road accident resulted in the loss of 11 lives and another 20 passengers were evacuated with various serious injuries.

That accident happened on a rainy day, near Sapopema, a small municipality 300 kilometers from Curitiba.

With information from EFE