Two dead and 12 injured in crash between minibus and truck in central Paraguay

Two people died and 12 were injured in Paraguay following a head-on collision between a private minibus with passengers and a truck on a road near the city of Emboscada, in the department of Cordillera (center), according to reports from the National Police and Firefighters.

On Saturday at around 10:55 p.m. local time (03:55 GMT on Sunday), at kilometer 31 of the PY03 route, which connects Asunción, the country’s capital, with Saltos del Guairá (east), a few meters from the Emboscada toll station, a minibus collided with a truck, according to a report from the Paraguayan police.

The driver of the minibus and one of the 13 passengers – a 16-year-old teenager – were the fatal victims.

Several young people between the ages of 13 and 17 were travelling in the vehicle.

Firefighters displaced

Firefighters went to the scene to rescue several people who were trapped, including the truck driver, who was traveling alone and “sustained serious injuries,” said Lieutenant Sofia Aguilera, of the Eighteenth Clean Company of the Volunteer Fire Department of Paraguay.

The man was transferred with vital signs to the Hospital of the City of Limpio, 25 kilometers from Asunción, and was then intubated, Aguilera said.

The other 11 injured people were also taken to the same hospital.

The Fire Department lieutenant said that the injured “did not have very serious injuries,” except for cuts or bruises.

Asuncion / EFE