Four people, including three teenagers, have been killed after a bus carrying a football team plunged 32 feet from a bridge in Brazil. The horrific crash, in which the bus carrying the Esporte Clube Vila Maria Helena fell in Além Paraíba in the state of Minas Gerais in the south-east of the country, saw another 29 people injured.
According to Brazilian news website G1, the dead included three teenagers, aged between 14 and 17, and one adult. The victims have not yet been formally identified.
The bus reportedly fell from the bridge when the driver lost control of the vehicle as they passed the bridge on the BR-116. Emergency services rushed to the scene when the alarm was raised.
The football team was on their way back to Duque de Caxias after a game for the Ubaporanga National Cup tournament, having just played against Simonesia. It was first in the under-18 category and runner-up in the under-16 category.
A 16-year-old survivor told TV Integracao: “Everyone was happy with winning the title and, unfortunately, that happened. It was very fast. Everyone was sleeping.”
He added he was lucky he was sitting at the back of the bus as the front received most of the damage, while another teen explained he was able to get out of the vehicle after his friend managed to open the door.
Twenty-four of the injured were taken to Hospital Sao Salvador. Another five received treatment at the Casa de Caridade Leopoldinense in Leopoldina.
According to Hospital Sao Salvador, one of those treated was 19 and others were under-18.
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