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The wreckage of a bus that collided with a truck is seen by the road in Brazil on Wednesday. Photo: AP

At least 41 killed as bus and truck crash in Brazil

  • ‘Bodies everywhere’ after collision about 340km (211 miles) west of Sao Paulo, the country’s biggest city
  • The vehicles were smashed to pieces, with the front of the bus torn off
Brazil

At least 41 people were killed and 10 injured on Wednesday when a bus and a truck crashed in southeastern Brazil, police said.

The bus, which was carrying employees on their way to work at a textile factory, collided with the truck just before 7am on a motorway outside the town of Taguai, in Sao Paulo state, police said.

“There were bodies everywhere” when rescuers arrived at the scene, a police source said.

“It was impossible to tell who had been in the truck and who had been in the bus,” he added.

Debris is seen at the site of a fatal vehicle crash in Taguai, Brazil on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash. The death toll, initially reported as 32, was expected to rise further, state police said in a statement.

“We know there are more victims in the wreckage of the vehicles, but we don’t know how many,” it said.

Police said 37 people were killed at the scene. Four more died of their injuries in hospital. Another nine people are in serious condition, they said.

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Local officials made an appeal for blood donations.

“In a situation like this, blood transfusions are essential, and the worst part is that stocks are down because of the coronavirus pandemic,” state health secretary Jean Gorinchteyn told television network Globo News.

Images from the scene showed the vehicles smashed into pieces, debris strewn across the road. The front end of the bus was completely torn off.

Dozens of rescuers were still busy at the scene. Taguai is about 340km (211 miles) west of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city and economic capital.

The wreckage of a bus remains on the shoulder of a road in Taguai, Brazil on Wednesday. Photo: AP

“I want to send my condolences to the families and friends of the victims of this very terrible accident,” said Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria.

Local media reports said there were 53 people on the bus. The truck driver reportedly survived.

The crash was one of the worst in recent memory in Brazil, where 5,332 people died in road accidents last year.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Carnage as factory bus and truck collide on motorway
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