Tragic Bus-Truck Collision on Brazilian Highway Claims 23 Lives and Leaves Four Injured

AT least 23 people have been killed in a horror smash when a bus carrying medical patients and a truck collided in Brazil.

The head-on collision occurred on a motorway when the truck veered into the other vehicle’s lane, local police said.

Footage from the crash site in Parana state in ‘s south shows the mangled remains of the bus that was almost entirely smashed to pieces.

The council department bus was transporting patients to medical centres in the city of Curitiba when it was hit at about 3.30am local time (7.30am BST).

Two children were among the dead, as was the driver of the truck.

“At least 23 deaths have been confirmed. Most of the victims were on the bus,” local authorities said.

At least five people were also injured with three of the survivors in a serious condition, officials said.

The nightmare smash occurred on a highway that connects the southern part of the country with Sao Paulo, Brazil’s wealthiest state.

State governor Ratinho Junior said: “In light of the tragedy in Ipiranga, I have declared three days of official mourning throughout the state.

“At this moment of profound grief, my solidarity is with the families who lost their loved ones and with all those who were injured.”

Eduardo Pimentel, mayor of Parana’s state capital Curitiba, said: “I received with sadness the news of the serious accident on BR-373, in Ipiranga, involving a Health Department minibus from Imbituva.

“They were patients and companions who were coming to the Curitiba region seeking medical care.

“At this moment of pain, my solidarity is with the families and friends of the victims and with the entire population of Imbituva.

“I ask God to comfort every heart and give strength to the injured in their recovery.

“Curitiba joins Parana in prayer in the face of this tragedy.”

The collision has been described as the worst road accident in Parana for more than five years, when 19 people died after a bus crashed in the city of Guaratuba in January 2021.

Fatal traffic collisions are common in , with eight people dying in the state of Rio de Janeiro on Sunday when the bus they were travelling in overturned.

In February, a bus returning from a religious festival in northeastern Brazil veered off the road and flipped, killing at least 16 people.