At least 16 people were killed and 27 injured on Friday when a bus fell more than 20 meters from an overpass in southeast Brazil, firefighters said.
The accident took place near the town of Joao Monlevade, in the state of Minas Gerais.
The bus carrying 46 people fell from a viaduct called “Ponte Torta”.
The coach fell 20 m./AFP
According to initial investigations, the accident could be due to a failure of the vehicle's brakes.
Six people were able to get out before the fall
Twelve people died at the crash site, three in hospital and one during his transfer, firefighters said.
In addition, 27 people were injured, three of them in serious condition, transported by helicopter to a hospital in Belo Horizonte, the state capital.
Impressive videos broadcast by firefighters show the coach totally destroyed at the bottom of a ravine.
Help near the carcass of the coach.
AFP / Minas Gerais Fire Department
According to preliminary findings of experts, the driver “lost control of the vehicle after possible brake failure”.
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"The driver shouted that he had no more brakes and the coach began to reverse, hitting the side protection of the bridge" on which he was standing, the statement said.
"Six people managed to get out of the bus before it tipped over, including the driver, who has not yet been located", adds the text.
Three of these people “did not need medical attention”.
A company without authorization
The company to which the vehicle belongs had no authorization to transport passengers, according to the National Association of Public Transport (ANTP) cited by the local press.
The BR-381 road, on which the accident occurred, is the one on which the most fatal accidents occur in all of Minas Gerais, said the governor of the state, Romeu Zema.
On November 25, a collision between a bus and a truck near the city of Taguai, in the state of Sao Paulo, left 41 people dead and 10 injured, most of them employees of a textile company.
Federal authorities estimate that between 2015 and 2019 an average of 30,000 people died each year in traffic accidents in Brazil.
