A majority of the bus passengers injured in Porté-Puymorens this Sunday, December 1, 2024, were Colombian nationals living in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, in the province of Barcelona. They were going to Andorra during the day. According to our Catalan colleagues from El Periódico, he “there would be no trace on the internet or in the commercial register” of this trip which would have been billed €27 per passenger.
The bus, involved in a serious traffic incident this Sunday 1is December 2024 in the Pyrénées-Orientales which cost the lives of at least two passengers, was it chartered by a real company?
For the record, this coach suffered an accident while carrying 47 passengers, including the driver. On board were a majority of Colombian nationals who lived in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, in the province of Barcelona, as confirmed by the Pyrénées-Orientales prefecture to L'Indépendant. They had spent the day in Pas de la Casa, Andorra, and were returning to southern Catalonia.
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According to information from our Catalan colleagues from the newspaper El Periódico, he “there is no trace of this round trip to Andorra from Hospitalet de Llobregat, whether on a website, the commercial register or the social network of the organizer of the trip”. Citing sources from the Colombian community established in Catalonia, the Catalan media continues: “The only trace of this promotion, for 27 euros, is a photo massively shared via WhatsApp between compatriots of this nationality. It was a round trip to Andorra to make purchases taking advantage of Black Friday offers in the neighboring country, departing at seven in the morning from the area around the Pubilla Cases metro station, in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, and also from Fabra and Puig, in Barcelona”.
The bus driver's company would have gone bankrupt
The Catalan newspaper has identified the trip organizer. It would be a woman first presented as “planning excursions in the south of France for three years“. She would be among those injured in the accident. Her family's lawyer, Jesús Gracia, responded to the same media “It's a lie“to insinuations of a hypothetical illegality of this trip. And he defends:”It was mainly made up of a group of Colombian friends who organize “various activities”. And while the organizer took care of the travel, others were preparing barbecues or football matches“. Through these arguments, he attempts to explain why these trips “were not announced”. The lawyer also assures that the alleged organizer “would not have received any remuneration” for these trips. According to him, it would not be “of his professional activity“, since she would work”for a cleaning company“.
The company of the damaged bus, Chavi Tours, apparently went bankrupt several months ago, reveals El Periódico. The owner would have continued his activity independently with a rental vehicle.
Also read:
Bus accident in Porté-Puymorens: victims, circumstances, investigation… what we know about the tragedy which left 2 dead and dozens injured
Still, according to El Periódico, to reduce transport costs, the organization of the trip would have preferred national roads, even more winding, rather than toll roads. By going via the RN 320 instead of taking the Puymorens tunnel, a saving of 40 euros would have been made.
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