SIX people are dead and seven other have been injured after a driver is said to have rammed into a crowd at a festival.
Two eight-month-old babies were among the injured, according to reports.
It’s thought the driver ‘apparently lost control’ and ran over people near the Caupolicán fair Credit: AFP
Police have arrested the driver who was a petty officer in the Chilean Navy Credit: AFP
The vehicle mounted the pavement at a fair in Viña del Mar, .
The driver was a petty officer who was off duty, the Chilean Navy has said.
He is thought to have “apparently lost control” and ran over people near the Caupolicán fair, around 74 miles west of Santiago, according to Carabineros Colonel Jorge Guaita.
The driver has been arrested and has undergone testing.
Six people have been killed and seven others injured Credit: AFP
It’s believed most of those who were killed were stall vendors Credit: AFP
Guaita said: “There are six people dead at this time.
“And we have seven people injured, none in life-threatening condition, fortunately.”
Early reports indicate the vehicle was speeding on a road near the fairgrounds, according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo .
Photographs of the wreckage show a white car with part of the bonnet destroyed and its windshield shattered.
Surrounding it are pieces of clothing, cardboard boxed and fairground merchandise.
The presidential delegate of Valparaíso, Manuel Millones Chirino, said that according to the preliminary police reports, the man was not “under the influence of alcohol” and probably lost control “because of the drizzle.”
He said the Caupolicán market is in the Gómez Carreño neighbourhood and has a section for street stalls, another for fruit and vegetables and another for general merchandise.
While the identities of those who died have not yet been confirmed, it is thought most of them were stall vendors, according to initial testimonies, Millones said.
A press statement from the Chilean Navy said the driver was “a member of the institution, who was off duty and driving a private vehicle.”
He is a corporal in the Marine Corps, according to the Ministry of Defence.
It said it deeply regrets “the irreparable loss of human lives caused by this tragedy” and added it was cooperating with the to clarify “the circumstances of the accident.”
President José Antonio Kast, who appeared on the programme X said: “The tragedy in Viña del Mar has plunged the entire country into mourning.”
He also expressed his condolences to the victims’ families.
He added: “All state institutions are working to assist those affected and to clearly establish responsibility for this painful event.”
Legal and psychological support is being given to those involved in the tragedy.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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