A massive accident in Matanzas leaves five dead and 20 injured.

Five people died and 20 were injured in a massive accident that occurred on the morning of this Saturday, on a stretch of the central highway near the town of Limonar, Matanzas.

According to the state-run media Cubadebate, two of the fatal victims died on the spot and the other three during the medical assistance process.

The 20 injured people were initially transferred to the Limonar polyclinic. After the initial classification, 13 were sent to the Comandante Faustino Pérez provincial hospital. Additionally, a minor was transported to the Eliseo Noel Caamaño pediatric hospital. According to Cubadebate, he had to be operated on due to a severe cranial trauma.

Another person, who was in critical condition with artificial ventilation, was being treated by a multidisciplinary team in the operating room, at the time the official media released the information.

The remaining injured, who suffered minor injuries, were taken to the Mario Muñoz military hospital, in the provincial capital.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Eddy Estévez Rodríguez, head of Transit in the province, quoted by Cubadebate, the accident involved a gacela microbus, belonging to the state-owned company Cuba Petróleos (CUPET); a private vehicle intended for passenger transport, and a bus from the state-owned Empresa de Ómnibus Nacionales.

Estévez Rodríguez specified that the causes of the accident are still under investigation. However, he preliminarily mentioned that it could have occurred due to the loss of control of the vehicle by the gacela driver.

Just a week ago, the official press reported two accidents in Camagüey and Ciego de Ávila, which caused two deaths and injuries to 54 people.

The first of the incidents was reported by the state-run media Trabajadores. It happened in the early hours of Thursday, December 14, at kilometer 607 of the Central Highway, about 14 kilometers from the town of Sibanicú, in the province of Camagüey, when two passenger buses from the leasing system collided.

The preliminary report, according to information from Criminal Instruction, was two deaths at the scene of the collision and another 15 injured passengers. They were mostly treated on-site. The rest were taken to the Manuel Ascunce Provincial Hospital, in the city of Camagüey. The injuries were not life-threatening.

The following day, a massive accident occurred at kilometer 491 of the Central Highway, in the El Centro-Gaspar village, when a Yutong bus covering the Camagüey-Chambas route overturned.

A total of 45 passengers and the crew were on the bus. There were 39 injured. The preliminary police report, quoted by the state newspaper Invasor, identified the probable cause of the accident as the loss of control of the bus. It was raining at that time in the area.

In November, the Cuban government stated that only 8% of traffic accidents occur due to the poor state of the roads on the Island, and that 90% of the accidents stem from the human factor.

Colonel Roberto Rodríguez Fernández, head of the Specialized Transit Unit of the General Directorate of the National Revolutionary Police (PNR), said on the radio and television program Mesa Redonda that accidents are now more serious and dangerous. “The number of accidents decreases by 1,000 compared to the same period of the previous year and by 445 the number of injured, although there are six more fatalities, which confirms that today accidents are more serious and dangerous,” he stated.

At the beginning of this month, Rodríguez himself reported that 562 Cubans died as a result of traffic accidents between January and October 2023. The Colonel emphasized that 59% of the deaths occur among mopeds, motorcycles, and pedestrians. He stated that there are currently more than 30,000 drivers in Cuba without a driving permit.