The number of fatalities from the accident of a bus on the national road that connects Mérida with Barinas rose to 10 this Monday. Rescue organizations recovered the last bodies during extended work on Sunday and confirmed the final balance in the last hours.
The incident occurred on the afternoon of Saturday, April 25, in the La Campana sector, Cardenal Quintero municipality of Mérida state, near the border with Barinas. A unit of the Unión Táchira line, plate 578AS6P, lost control, left the track and fell down a cliff more than 600 meters deep until hitting a ravine and a body of water.
The vehicle was carrying around 16 people, including the driver Germán Ramón Altuve, who is among the deceased. Mérida Civil Protection, Firefighters, Bolivarian National Police, National Guard and the Cicpc participated in the complex rescue maneuvers.
The authorities temporarily suspended the work during the night of Saturday due to bad weather conditions and resumed it on Sunday with a contingent of more than 100 troops.
Nine bodies were preliminarily identified; one remains pending identification in the Timotes hospital morgue.
Among the fatalities are:
- Germán Ramón Altuve (driver)
- Yosman Alexander Toro Araque
- Rafael José Saavedra Vásquez (teacher from Tachira)
- Yasmín Coromoto Díaz
- Kleiver Contreras (athlete from Barinas)
- Pedro Pablo Vallejo
- Giorian Jesus Rojas Garcia
- Cesar Rangel
- Rosa Bencomo
- And a tenth body still in the process of full identification.
Authorities have not determined precisely the causes of the accident. Preliminary reports indicate that the intense rains of previous days in the Andean region affected the visibility and condition of the road, with the possible presence of fog and wet surfaces.
However, the official investigation continues by the Cicpc to clarify whether there was mechanical failure, human error or external factors.
This tragic event adds to the effects generated by the rainfall associated with the monsoon trough that affects Venezuela. The National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (Inameh) reported for this Monday, April 27, cloudy skies in much of the territory, with rains of variable intensity and possible electrical shocks, especially in the Andes, Zulia, the central west and the central region.
Civil Protection remains alert in mountain areas and recommends drivers take extreme caution on Andean roads, avoid night trips and check the state of the roads before traveling.
