a bus accident followed by a fire leaves at least 38 dead

A violent accident involving a bus, a truck and another vehicle left 38 dead in Brazil, in the state of Minas Gerais.

The death toll from a bus accident, followed by a fire, which occurred on the morning of Saturday December 21 in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais (southeast) has risen to at least 38 dead, police announced.

“Between 32 and 35” people lost their lives but “it has not yet been possible to specify the exact number due to the state of the bodies,” a fire department spokesperson told AFP earlier. , who added that a “definitive” assessment would be given after the expertise of the scientific police.

Among the dead were the driver and at least one child, noted firefighters, who needed a crane to remove the charred bodies. They had previously clarified that there were 13 survivors, who were taken in for medical treatment.

Granite block

The bus was traveling from Sao Paulo (southeast) towards Vitoria da Conquista, in the state of Bahia (northeast).

Initially, the firefighters gave a version of the facts leading to the accident: around 3:30 a.m. local time, a tire punctured near the town of Lajinha, in Minas Gerais, and the driver lost control of the vehicle. vehicle, which hit a truck, we learned from the same source.

Another vehicle hit the rear of the bus, but its occupants survived the impact.

The firefighters subsequently reported another version of the facts, based on witness testimonies, according to which a block of granite collapsed on the bus. It was this fall which would have led to the collision with the truck.