Bus Accident in Holguin Leaves 3 Dead and 29 Injured

The vehicle, which belongs to the state-owned company Astro, was covering the route from Havana to Mayarí. (TeleCristal)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, December 2, 2018 — Three dead and 29 wounded have been the outcome of a bus accident that took place at the entrance of Mayarí, in Holguín province. The vehicle, which belongs to the state-owned company Astro, was covering the route from Havana to that eastern town when it overturned around 5:30 in the morning this Wednesday, according to a report from the official press.

The dead have been identified as Diosmaris Mosqueda Castillo, 48 and a resident of Guayabo; Eulalia Sánchez Herrera, 52, a resident of Reparto Juan George Soto; and Ángel Merencio Rondón, from Pueblo Nuevo, all from the province of Holguín.

Another 29 people had to be attended to in the Mártires de Mayarí hospital and are “not in life-threatening danger,” the statement specifies.

Police are investigating the causes of the accident and some witnesses say that the bus, with the registration B 179 793, overturned when the driver “tried to avoid a cyclist and went off the road.”

Traffic accidents are the fifth biggest cause of death in Cuba, where last year a disaster was recorded every 47 minutes, with an average of one death every 12 hours.

In this year’s first trimester, the number of massive accidents in the country shot up in an alarming manner and as of now more than 4,400 deaths by this cause have been reported since 2012, according to official data.

The problem of the many traffic accidents that occur on the Island was addressed by president Miguel Díaz-Canel during a meeting with the Council of Ministers this past July, at which the leader urged concern for the “significant number of deaths and injuries” caused by these events.

On that occasion, the incumbent of Transport, Adel Yzquierdo, cited as principal causes of accidents “social indiscipline,” inadequate signs, the deterioration of roads, and the circulation of vehicles without up to date technical inspections.

In 2017 there were a recorded 11,187 traffic accidents in the country with a toll of 750 deaths and 7,999 injured, according to reports from the National Commission of Road Security.

Translated by: Sheilagh Carey

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