[Auto/Moto] Ten dead and 25 injured when a bus fell off a bridge in western Cuba

[EvKirito]

 

Havana, Jan 30 (EFE) .- Ten people died and another 25 were injured when the bus in which they were traveling in the Cuban province of Mayabeque (west) fell over a bridge, official sources reported this Saturday.

The accident occurred at dawn from Friday to Saturday at kilometer 42 of the national highway as it passed through the municipality of Güines when the vehicle left the road and fell off a bridge, according to information from the Havana Defense Council. and the National Road Safety Commission (CNSV) disseminated by state media.

The latter body and the Ministry of the Interior have opened an investigation to clarify the causes of the incident.

Teachers who were stationed in Havana were traveling on the bus and were returning to their provinces of origin, since face-to-face classes were suspended in the capital due to the covid-19 pandemic.

The injured, including at least three people in critical condition, were transferred to hospitals in the capital and Mayabeque.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel lamented on Twitter the "loss of valuable human lives and wounded" and sent his condolences to the families and friends of the victims.

Accidents, including traffic accidents, have been the fifth leading cause of death in Cuba for several years, where in 2020 there was a daily average of 20 road accidents, according to the latest data from the CNSV.

The main causes of traffic accidents in the Caribbean country are speeding, not due attention to the wheel, technical defects, improper overtaking, the effects of alcoholic beverages and excess passengers.

The poor condition of the roads and the aging fleet of the island, where cars with more than half a century old pass, also influence.