A bus returning from a religious festival in northeast Brazil has veered off the road on a curve and overturned, killing at least 16 people, including four children, officials said.
The bus had been carrying about 60 people when it tipped over in the rural interior of Alagoas state on Tuesday, ejecting some passengers while others were trapped beneath the wreckage.
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The Alagoas regional government said in a statement that seven women, five men and four children were among those killed. The accident remains under investigation and was described as “highly complex”.
Brazilian media reported that the bus had been returning from celebrations for Our Lady of Candelaria, a religious festival in the state of Ceara that attracts thousands of devotees every February 2.
“The bus went off the road on a curve, overturned, and some people were thrown out,” said Colonel Andre Madeiro, director of the Alagoas Aviation Department, which took part in the rescue operation.
“Some were trapped under the vehicle. It was a very bad accident, even atypical,” he told a news conference.
Images posted on the X social media platform of the reported crash site featured a severely-mangled bus lying on its side as injured passengers sat nearby waiting for help.
Survivors of the crash, including a seriously injured child, were taken to hospital, where they remain under medical care.
“I express my solidarity with the families and friends at this time of such great pain,” Governor Paulo Dantas wrote on social media. Three days of mourning will be observed in the state, he said.
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Deadly road accidents are common in Brazil.
In October, 17 people died in the northeastern state of Pernambuco when a driver lost control of a bus.
More than 10,000 people died in traffic accidents in Brazil in 2024, according to the Ministry of Transportation, including in December 2024, when at least 32 people were killed when a passenger bus and a truck collided on a highway in southeastern Brazil’s state of Minas Gerais.
Also in 2024, a bus carrying a football team flipped on a road, killing three people.
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