At least 41 dead in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck in Brazil

Television capture of the accident that occurred this Wednesday in the State of São Paulo, Brazil.Reprodução Globonews / EL PAÍS

An accident between a bus and a truck on Wednesday morning, in the Taguaí region, in the interior of the State of São Paulo, has left at least 41 dead, according to the State Highway Police.

At least 11 people have been seriously injured.

According to the Brazilian media, the bus was carrying 52 employees of a textile company in the region when it crashed into a truck traveling in the opposite direction.

The truck driver was taken alive to a hospital.

The wounded are treated in establishments in the cities of Taguaí, Fartura and Taquarituba.

The governor of São Paulo, João Doria, referred to the accident through his social networks.

“My solidarity with the families and friends of the victims of the serious accident that occurred this morning in Taguaí, in the interior of São Paulo.

Firefighters, ambulances and police teams are in place to attend to the incident and support the families of the victims, ”he wrote.

Doria also regretted the accident at the press conference held this morning at the University of São Paulo, where he inaugurated a partnership program between the public and private sectors carried out by the Ministry of Economic Development.

The Secretary of Health of São Paulo, Jean Gorinchteyn, traveled to the region of the accident to coordinate assistance to the families of the victims.

In an interview with the GloboNews channel, Gorinchteyn drew attention to the "critical" stock of blood bags in the region.

The levels, according to the secretary, are already very low due to the pandemic and become even more fundamental for those injured from the accident.

For this reason, the Government called on the population to donate blood in the Botucatu Hemocentro.

The crash occurred on a curve at kilometer 172 of the Alfredo de Oliveira Carvalho Highway, SP-249, which connects the cities of Taguaí and Taquarituba, near the border with Paraná, at 7 in the morning (Brasilia time).

Until noon, the road remained totally closed by the police, with no provision for the release of the track.

Police suspect that one of the vehicles lost control and entered the other lane.