São Paulo, Brazil, Dec 21 (EFE). – At least 37 people were killed early Saturday morning in an accident involving a bus, a truck, and another vehicle in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, security forces reported afternoon.
Firefighters initially reported 22 dead, but the death toll rose as work progressed to recover bodies, some of which were “charred and trapped in the wreckage.”
The Federal Highway Police said the death toll was still “preliminary” because the fire in the vehicle caused by the accident made identification work difficult.
The driver of the bus lost control on a section of the BR-116 highway as it ed through the municipality of Teófilo Otoni.
According to the Federal Highway Police, this happened after a “large granite block” fell from a ing truck and hit the bus, which caught fire and was destroyed.
Another vehicle behind then collided with the granite truck, but its three engers survived with “serious injuries.”
Thirteen other survivors from the bus were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, fire officials said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed “deep regret” for the accident, expressed solidarity with the victims’ families, and said he was praying for the recovery of the injured.
“The federal government places itself at the disposal of the community of Teófilo Otoni and the government of Minas Gerais for whatever is necessary,” he wrote on social media.
The governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema, assured that he had ordered the “total mobilization” of the regional government and said that security forces had been working “without interruption” since early morning to respond “with agility” to the incident.EFE
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