São Paulo, Brazil — A devastating head-on collision between a minibus and a semi-truck in southern Brazil’s Paraná state has killed 23 people and injured five others, authorities said.
The crash occurred at around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday on the BR-373 highway near Ipiranga, in Paraná’s Campos Gerais region, about 180 kilometers (112 miles) from Curitiba. The collision took place at kilometer 209 of the highway and caused extensive damage to both vehicles.
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The minibus belonged to the municipal health department of Imbituva and was carrying patients and their relatives to medical appointments and treatment at hospitals in the Greater Curitiba region. Most of those killed were passengers traveling in the minibus. The truck driver was also among the fatalities.
According to Brazil’s Federal Highway Police, preliminary findings indicate that the truck crossed into the opposite lane and collided head-on with the minibus. Investigators have not yet determined why the truck left its lane, and authorities are continuing to examine the circumstances surrounding the crash.
The victims included 13 women, eight men and two children. Five people survived the crash with injuries and were taken to hospitals in the nearby city of Ponta Grossa. Three of the injured were reported to be in serious condition.
The scale of the tragedy prompted an immediate emergency response involving the Federal Highway Police, firefighters, forensic specialists and other emergency teams. The highway was completely closed for several hours as rescue workers treated survivors, recovered the victims and examined the wreckage. The road remained blocked for nearly seven hours before authorities began reopening the route.
The crash has caused widespread shock in Imbituva, where many of the victims lived. Local authorities have been providing psychological and legal support to relatives as forensic teams work to formally identify the deceased and return their remains to their families. A collective wake was also organized in the municipality for families who chose to gather at a municipal sports facility.
Paraná Governor Ratinho Júnior declared three days of official mourning following the disaster and expressed condolences to the victims’ families. The state authorities said the investigation would seek to establish precisely what caused the truck to cross into the opposing lane and trigger the fatal collision.
The accident is being described by Brazilian authorities as the deadliest road crash in Paraná since 2021. It has also renewed concerns about road safety in a country where deadly traffic accidents remain a serious public-safety issue.
The investigation remains ongoing, with police and forensic authorities examining the vehicles, the highway conditions and other available evidence to determine the exact sequence of events that led to the collision.
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