At least 23 people died and five were injured in a head-on collision between a minibus and a truck early Wednesday on the BR-373 highway in the southern Brazilian state of Paraná, authorities said.
The crash occurred around 3:30 a.m. local time at kilometer 209 of the highway near the municipality of Imbituva in the Campos Gerais region. The truck crossed into the opposite lane and struck the minibus head-on, according to the Federal Highway Police and Via Araucária, the highway concessionaire.
The minibus belonged to the Health Department of Imbituva and was transporting 27 people—mostly patients in Brazil's public healthcare system and their companions—to medical centers in Curitiba for appointments, tests, and specialized procedures. The other vehicle was a heavy truck traveling without cargo and bearing license plates from Erechim in Rio Grande do Sul state.
Among those killed were two children, thirteen women, and eight men, according to the concessionaire. The driver of the truck died at the scene. The identities of the deceased have not been released, though authorities said they maintain a passenger list.
The five injured were taken to hospitals in Ponta Grossa, approximately 60 kilometers away. Images from the scene showed the minibus completely destroyed.
The highway was closed for nearly seven hours following the collision while forensic experts and members of Brazil's federal highway police worked at the site. The closure caused several kilometers of traffic congestion in both directions. Via Araucária reported the closure around 7 a.m. local time.
The Federal Highway Police, Via Araucária, the Mobile Emergency Care Service, and the Fire Department responded to the incident. Authorities have opened an investigation to determine the cause of the collision.
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