The
bus was carrying families going to an evangelical Christian event in
Paraná State when the driver lost control late in the afternoon on a
curve in a highway through the Dona Francisca mountain range, sending
the vehicle over a cliff into a tree-lined area in the Atlantic Forest.
As rescue crews worked into the night on Saturday to recover bodies, the
police said the death toll could climb as high as 55, including
children.
The episode reflects the hazards of Brazil’s
roads, with the country ranking among the worst in the world in
traffic-related deaths. More than 40,000 people a year are estimated to
die in traffic accidents in Brazil, according to the World Health
Organization.
The authorities have been trying reduce these fatalities
with legislation cracking down on speeding and drunken driving, but many
drivers still chafe at these measures.
The
cause of the bus crash on Saturday in Santa Catarina, one of Brazil’s
most prosperous states, was not immediately clear, but the curving
highway through the mountains is known as a dangerous route.
Pedro
Ivo Ilkiv, the mayor of União da Vitória, the city of about 52,000 that
was home to many of the victims in the crash, declared a period of
mourning.
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