A minimum of 37 individuals killed and 39 wounded as two buses collide in Bolivia

The crash occurred on the route between the cities of Uyuni and Colchani, when one of many automobiles swerved into the oncoming lane.

A minimum of 37 individuals have been killed and dozens extra injured in a crash involving two buses within the western Potosi area of Bolivia, police and native authorities have mentioned.

The accident occurred on Saturday at 7am native time (11:00 GMT) on the route between the cities of Uyuni and Colchani, when one of many automobiles swerved into the oncoming lane.

Uyuni is the gateway to the Salar de Uyuni, a significant vacationer attraction and the world’s largest salt flat at greater than 10,000sq km (3,900sq miles).

“Because of this deadly accident we now have 39 individuals injured in 4 hospitals within the city of Uyuni, and 37 individuals have misplaced their lives,” a spokesperson for the Departmental Police Command of Potosi advised reporters.

Police personnel are working to establish individuals who had been killed and people who had been injured and hospitalised, the spokesperson added.

One of many buses was heading to Oruro, the place probably the most essential carnival celebrations in Latin America is at the moment going down.

Cops eliminated survivors from the metal wreckage, in response to photos shot by Radio Uyuni, which confirmed a number of our bodies lined in blankets strewn throughout the excessive Andean flatlands.

A police spokesperson mentioned one of many two drivers, who each survived the crash, was noticed by passengers consuming alcohol.

Bolivia’s mountainous, under-maintained and little-supervised roadways are a number of the deadliest on the earth, killing a mean of 1,400 individuals yearly.