Despite the spectacular nature of the accident, there were no deaths or injuries.
14ymedio, Havana, 6 February 2025 — A Transtur bus carrying 20 Czech tourists, two drivers and a translator caught fire on Thursday morning while traveling near the Topes de Collantes viewing point in the province of Sancti Spíritus, according to local media. There were no deaths or injuries in the incident.
The vehicle was taking the tourists on a tour of the mountainous area of the Sierra del Escambray, explained Yensy Turiño, director of Transtur in Sancti Spíritus, speaking to the official media. The images released show the bus completely charred in the middle of a road where it had ascended to the viewing point, located in the municipality of Trinidad.
“The fire was extinguished in a matter of minutes by specialized forces from the Ministry of the Interior, without any reported injuries to the passengers or the crew of the bus,” said Turiño, who added that the foreign visitors’ documents were not lost, but part of their luggage was.
Following the incident, the state-owned company moved the Czech tourists to another bus and the group continued “with the planned excursion.”
After the incident, the state-owned company moved the Czech tourists to another bus and the group continued “with the planned excursion, which includes a stay of several hours in Topes de Collantes and the subsequent trip to the northern keys of Villa Clara,” Turiño explained.
The cause of the fire on the bus, which “seemed to be in good technical condition and was traveling at half of its capacity,” is still unknown, adds the Sancti Spiritus newspaper Escambray .
The tourists who were traveling in the demolished vehicle were among the passengers who landed at the Abel Santamaría International Airport in the city of Santa Clara on Saturday, on the first flight this year from the Czech Republic.
The route, operated by the airline World2Fly, arrived with 281 passengers. The arrival was noteworthy as it meant that the connection between Prague and Santa Clara, inaugurated in 2024, was restarted. The air link will have a weekly frequency, every Saturday until March 29.
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