A bus collided with a pick-up truck and fell into a ravine on Monday in Bolivia, resulting in 25 fatalities and 26 injuries, according to investigators.
The incident occurred approximately 90 kilometres north of Potosi city, involving people departing from the Oruro festival. Investigators believe the truck driver caused the accident by veering into opposing traffic and colliding with the bus.
Police spokesman Limberth Choque informed AFP that the truck driver was under custody whilst receiving medical treatment. The prosecutor’s office initiated an investigation for potential homicide and grievous injury charges.
This marked the second fatal accident in Potosi department within days, and the third within a month. Near Uyuni city on Saturday, a devastating collision between two buses claimed 37 lives. The vehicles were heading to the Oruro Carnival, a significant Latin American festival.
Regarding that incident, prosecutors confirmed that the bus driver was intoxicated and speeding when he crossed into oncoming traffic. The casualties included six foreign nationals: five Peruvians and a three-year-old German child.
Bolivia’s roads frequently witness severe accidents. Government statistics indicate that road accidents cause approximately 1,400 deaths annually in this nation of 12 million people. The Bolivian Observatory of Citizen Security reports that Potosi represents 10.6 percent of all fatal traffic incidents in the country.
On February 17, another bus accident claimed 30 lives when the vehicle plunged into an 800-metre ravine near Potosi. Authorities suspected excessive speed as the cause.
Earlier in January, a bus accident near Potosi resulted in 19 fatalities when the vehicle left the road.