Three children were among seven people killed in a bus accident in Oaxaca on Friday morning. Another 26 people were injured.
The bus driver lost control of the vehicle, which rolled over near kilometer 38 of the Río Grande-Santa Catarina Juquila highway at about 5 a.m. The highway connects Oaxaca’s Southern Sierra to the coast.
The news site Diario Marca reported that the driver fell asleep and went off the road, falling 10 meters into a ravine. The 70-year-old driver survived the accident and was arrested.
The tourist bus had traveled from Puebla to the Virgin of Juquila Sanctuary, a pilgrimage site 200 kilometers south of Oaxaca city. It was on its way to the coastal town Puerto Escondido when the accident occurred.
The three children that died in the accident were all boys, ages 7, 8 and 10.
Three injured people were taken to Oaxaca city by air ambulance, and one child was taken by ground transport to the children’s hospital in the city. Another 18 injured people were taken to Puebla by ground transport, including two young children, and another child was taken to a community hospital in Santa Catarina Juquila, Oaxaca. Three adults were also treated at the hospital in Santa Catarina Juquila.
The governments of Puebla and Oaxaca collaborated to provide emergency services to the passengers and their work continued into Friday afternoon.
The state government of Puebla said in a statement that it was providing all possible support to the victims.
“On the instructions of Governor Miguel Barbosa Huerta, the Interior Ministry will provide all the necessary support to the victims of the tourist bus that crashed this morning … [Barbosa] has given the instruction to grant everything necessary to the seriously injured with transfers by air ambulance … the state government stands in solidarity with the victims and their families and will coordinate with the Oaxaca authorities to provide the necessary help in this case,” it said.
With reports from El Sol de Puebla and Diario Marca
