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A crash between a passenger bus and a truck early Saturday killed 38 people on a highway in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. Brazilofficials said.
The Minas Gerais fire department, which responded to the scene, said another 13 people were taken to hospitals near the city of Teófilo Otoni. The bus had reportedly left Sao Paulo and was carrying 45 passengers.
Authorities said Saturday afternoon that all victims had been removed from the scene and that an investigation would determine the cause of the crash. Witnesses told rescuers that the bus blew a tire, causing the driver to lose control and collide with a truck. Others said a block of granite hit the bus, the fire department added.
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A car with three passengers also crashed into the bus, but all three survived.
Governor Romeu Zema wrote in X that he ordered the “total mobilization” of the Minas Gerais government to help the victims.
“We are working to ensure that the families of the victims are supported to deal with this tragedy in the most humane way possible, especially as it comes just before Christmas,” Zema said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a statement Saturday that federal officials were at the disposal of the state of Minas Gerais. “I deeply regret and send my prayers to the families of the more than 30 fatalities of the accident in Teófilo Otoni, Minas Gerais. “I pray for the recovery of the survivors of this terrible tragedy,” Lula said.
In 2024, more than 10,000 people died in traffic accidents in Brazil, according to the Ministry of Transportation.
In September, a bus carrying a soccer team It overturned on a highway and killed three people. The Coritiba Crocodiles, a team from the city of Curitiba, in southern Brazil, were heading to a game in Rio de Janeiro, where they were going to play in the country’s American football championship. The game was canceled after the fatal accident.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
