One Dead and 26 Injured in Severe Collision Between Yutong Bus and Moskvitch in Villa Clara

One man lost his life and 26 others were injured, including six children, in a severe accident that occurred on Sunday afternoon. The collision involved a Moskvitch car and a Transgaviota bus traveling from Cayo Santamaría to Abel Santamaría International Airport, according to local media reports.

The deceased, identified as Rafael, resided in the village of Meneses in Villa Clara and was the driver of the car. Images shared on social media show the tragic condition of the Russian-made vehicle. The bus, on the other hand, overturned and lost all its windshield glass. Apart from the fatality, one of the injured—whose identity has not been disclosed—is reported to be in critical condition.

The accident occurred after the Curva de la Minerva, in an area known as Crucero de Carmita, in the Camajuaní municipality, Villa Clara. Official media have not specified whether all the injured are Cuban nationals or if there are any foreign tourists among them, considering the bus was transporting 38 people from a tourist hub to the province's airport. The cause of the accident has not yet been revealed.

A video released by health authorities in Villa Clara showed that up to seven ambulances responded to the scene to transport the injured. It remains unclear whether the deceased driver was alone in the car or if all 26 injured—20 adults and six minors—were passengers on the tour bus.

Initially, the injured were treated at the Octavio de la Concepción Polyclinic in Camajuaní, but they were later transferred to the Pediatric Hospital and Arnaldo Milián Castro Hospital in Santa Clara. As is typical in such incidents, officials from the Party and Government, the Fire Department, the Red Cross, and the Medical Emergency System were activated to provide assistance. Authorities from the Ministry of Tourism also attended the scene.

As of the latest update, no further details about the fatal accident have been disclosed.

Traffic accidents have been relentless on Cuban roads since the beginning of the year, continuing the trend observed in 2023. Last week, ten people were injured, two of them seriously, after a truck transporting 25 workers from the Provincial Company of Road Maintenance and Construction (ViaMAC) crashed in the town of Yaguajay, Sancti Spíritus. In that incident, the accident occurred when the truck driver lost control of the vehicle. The workers, from the municipalities of Sancti Spíritus and Taguasco, were on their way to perform green area maintenance.

In another major accident last week, a group of 22 members of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) were injured on Tuesday morning when the truck they were traveling in, a ZIL 130, crashed in the mountainous area of Candelaria, Artemisa Province.

Last year, 729 people lost their lives in Cuba due to traffic accidents. Authorities recorded 8,556 accidents that resulted in 5,938 injuries. Human error was responsible for 91% of these incidents, according to official reports.