Thirty-two people were killed and another 21 were injured when two buses collided head-on in south-western Brazil, police said on Monday.
The crash occurred shortly before midnight on Sunday on the Raposo Tavares highway in Regente Feijo, about 840km west of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo state police Major Claudemir Alcarria said.
”The road was dry, the visibility was good, and it wasn’t a dangerous point,” Alcarria said by telephone. ”We imagine that one of the drivers was reckless in passing, but both drivers were killed, so we don’t know.”
The collision was so violent that one bus entered the other up to the third row of seats, crushing drivers and passengers. Police broke windows to remove survivors.
”They looked like just one bus,” Alcarria said.
The injured passengers were taken to two hospitals in the nearby city of Presidente Prudente, and four were listed in critical condition, Alcarria said.
The two-lane highway is in good condition but has been dubbed ”the corridor of death” because accidents are so common, he said.
”In my 27 years on the force, this was the worst accident I’ve seen,” Alcarria said. ”We’re just thankful the buses didn’t catch fire, or it would have been much worse.” — Sapa-AP