At least 23 people, including two children, were killed and five others injured in a head-on collision between a minibus and a truck in southern Brazil, the country's highway police reported.

The accident occurred on Wednesday morning on the BR-373 highway in Paraná state. According to local media, the minibus belonged to the health authorities of the city of Imbituva and was transporting patients and their relatives to medical appointments in Ponta Grossa, about 60 kilometers away.

The truck driver was among the dead. Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the collision. The highway at kilometer 209 was closed for nearly seven hours while experts and federal highway police worked at the scene.

Fatal traffic accidents are regularly recorded in Brazil. According to a World Bank study, more than 34,000 people died in such accidents in 2023, most of them motorcyclists. Experts cite speeding, drunk driving, and mobile phone use behind the wheel as the main causes. In February, 15 people died in a bus crash with pilgrims in Ceará state.

Source: podrobno.uz