A bus coming back from a religious festival in northeast Brazil went off the road on a curve and overturned on Tuesday and killed at least 16 people, officials said. The bus had about 60 people inside, some were thrown out, some trapped under the bus, and it was called a “highly complex” accident by authorities. Many were injured, including children, and they were rushed to the hospital because their condition was critical while some were not injured.
Colonel Andre Madeiro from Alagoas Aviation Department said, “The bus went off the road, overturned, some people thrown, some trapped under, very bad accident, atypical.” He said rescue teams had to work fast, it was chaotic, people screaming, some injured, some just waiting for help. Officials said it was very sad and shocking.
Seven women, five men, and four children were among the dead. The bus was returning from Our Lady of Candelaria festival in Ceara which is a religious event with many thousands of people every year February 2. People come from far away and travel long distance for this particular festival which is celebrated with enthusiasm. Governor Paulo Dantas wrote on social media, “I express my solidarity with families and friends at this time of great pain.” He also declared three days of mourning.
Road accidents like this happen a lot in Brazil, they said. Last October, 17 people died in Pernambuco in a bus crash. December 2024, 32 people died in Minas Gerais when a bus and truck collided. Earlier 2024, a football team bus flipped, three dead. Officials said rural roads are narrow, tricky, can be dangerous especially for overloaded buses, small errors can cause accidents.
Images online showed mangled bus and people were sitting around it, while they were waiting for help, and the images also showed injured passengers, emergency teams working, and chaos. Investigations are going on, authorities are looking at the cause and how this incident actually happened, and what can prevent it in future. Officials stated that the families are grieving, people are shocked, and rescue teams are helping. It’s a big tragedy, very sad, heartbreaking.
Source: Aljazeera