close
close

At least 22 dead in Bolivia’s worst road accident this year

At least 22 dead in Bolivia’s worst road accident this year

At least 22 dead in Bolivia’s worst road accident this year

A head-on collision between a truck and a bus on a highway in the Bolivian Andes on Saturday killed 22 people and injured 16, making it the worst traffic accident in the country this year, police said.

According to the police, fourteen dead have been identified so far. According to the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at least one Chilean citizen is among the victims.

Officials earlier reported that the drivers of both vehicles were among the dead.

The accident happened on a road between the Bolivian city of Patacamaya and the town of Tambo Quemado in northern Chile, Torrico told broadcaster Unitel.

The bus was en route to Chile, along the busy trade and tourist route that connects the two South American countries.

An initial investigation revealed that the truck had entered the opposite lane while attempting to pass another vehicle, traffic officer Nilo Torrico said.

“This truck performed a prohibited manoeuvre and this unfortunate accident resulted,” he said.

Images of the accident shared by Unitel showed the bus with a crushed front and the wrecked truck. Several bodies were seen on the road.

According to Torrico, emergency workers were working to recover bodies trapped in the destroyed vehicles.

Bolivia sees about 1,400 traffic deaths per year, according to government statistics, with accidents mainly caused by poor driving and mechanical failures.

An accident on a busy road in southwestern Bolivia on April 4 killed 14 people and injured two.