The bus that rammed and killed five protesters near Uyuni, Bolivia
five people died after a bus hit a group of protesters blocking a road in southwestern Bolivia. The driver, who was driving without a license plate, has assured that he has lost control of the vehicle, but the authorities are investigating the causes of the road accident.
The incident took place 12 kilometers from Uyuni, in the Andean region of Potosí, where demonstrators were protesting on a road with local political claims. As part of their requests, they had arranged a stone cord to stop vehicular traffic.
However, this Monday around 7pm, a public transport bus from the Trans Quijarro company broke the line of rocks and charged to a group of people.
According to witnesses, the vehicle was traveling without headlights and did not even honk. They also assured that the driver tried to escape, but that they detained him until the police arrived.
“We were in the middle of a block and as there are stones, the bus came with no light and it didn’t even honk, we only heard the sound of the stones and when I turned around the bus passed (tearing) the people, “said a protester, in statements gleaned from the newspaper page seven.
“For this reason, five people died,” confirmed Transit’s departmental director, Sergio Valdivia. They are four women and one man. Valdivia said there were no injuries.
Investigate the cause of the accident
The driver, 74 years old, he didn’t have a driving license when he was arrested, the authorities detailed.
The driver said he had “a mechanical problem and for that reason he lost control of the vehicle,” continued the director of the traffic department. In addition to hitting the demonstrators, he collided with a motorcycle and another car.
Agents did a breathalyser test the driver and sent the sample to the Institute for Forensic Investigations (IDIF) “to ascertain if there was any alcohol in the blood”. Witnesses said the man was drunk at the time of the accident.
The blockade of the route was carried out due to various local requests, including the dismissal of the delegate of the government of Potosi for the province of Quijarro, Beltrán Mamani, who the mobilization accused of seeking the division of certain sectors such as merchants and civic by Uyuni.
The spokesman for the government of Potosí, Aldo Effen, expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased and reported that it was decided to relieve the delegate. He also said that they hope to speak with the mobilized people, but that they have not yet come to meet the authorities.
Accidents on Bolivian roads cause around 1,400 deaths and 40,000 injuries each year and are mostly due to preventable human errors, according to official data.
The Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt pan in the world, is one of the main tourist attractions in Bolivia, as is the colonial city of Potosí, which in colonial times distinguished itself for the exploitation of gold and silver.
With information from agencies
DB
Source: Clarin
