Wednesday, February 1, 2023 | 12:00 a.m.
Four missionaries died yesterday morning in Brazil as a result of the overturning of a bus that was going to Foz de Iguazú and that hours before had left Florianópolis. In addition to the natives of Tierra Colorada, three other Argentines died as a result of the tragic event, as confirmed by the Argentine consulate.
According to different portals from the neighboring country, the bus fell from a ravine on the BR-277 route, near the Brazilian city of Fernandes Pinheiro, located more than 500 kilometers from Foz de Iguazú.
This morning paper was able to confirm that the deceased were Carina Martínez (42), a native of Puerto Iguazú, as well as her son David (3), who also died in the accident.
Meanwhile, Giuliana Tessari (24), belonging to a well-known Wanda family, died in the road accident as did her boyfriend, whose identity was not revealed yesterday, but it was revealed that he was also a missionary.
Rescuers worked for ten hours to remove the bodies of four of the deceased.
It was learned that the woman from Iguazu was returning from her vacation with her husband and three children, an 11-year-old girl, a 17-year-old teenager, and a 3-year-old boy.
On the other hand, this medium was able to find out that the baby’s father tried to help his son in the place, but the creature was already without vital signs. In addition, it was possible to find out that the man was treated and taken to a hospital in the municipality of Iratí.
On the other hand, a co-worker of Carina’s, who worked in a renowned shopping center in Foz de Iguazú, in communication with El Territorio did not hide her pain at the sad episode and also remembered her as “an excellent person, colleague and mother”. .
He also pointed out that even though the family had a car, they decided to travel by bus like other times before because it was more comfortable for them, due to the fact that Brazilian routes are complicated to drive.
For his part, Argentine ambassador Daniel Scioli confirmed through his social networks that five of the seven deceased are Argentine nationals.
slip and overturn
The accident occurred around 03:50 p.m. in Fernandes Pinheiro, in the southeast of Paraná, when the long-distance bus of the Viação Catarinense company misled the bus with 55 people, including the driver.
The rescue of the passengers ended at 11:20 a.m., ten hours after the event, since four of the bodies were under the overturned vehicle and it was necessary to pick up the bus in order to gain access.
Carina Martínez (42) with David (3), the youngest of her three children.
The doctor who treated the tourists overnight said the reason the bus was double-decker made it difficult to remove the bodies.
On the other hand, the Civil Police of the neighboring country investigates the case and took measures to clarify the dynamics of the accident. The security force indicated that they are still waiting for forensic reports to help understand the situation and confirm the causes of the overturn.
The bus was seized after the bodies of the victims were removed and sent for forensic examination.
Likewise, according to the preliminary analysis of the Federal Highway Police, based on the tracks and information collected, the bus left the road in a straight line and fell to the side of the road. No signs of collision with other vehicles were detected.
“There is no skid mark here on the road, which rules out the possibility of a potential collision. Until then, due to the time of the accident, which was 1.50 in the morning, we hypothesized a probable loss of control of the vehicle, which caused the accident. But we will still take steps to clarify the case,” said Wesley Vinicius, an investigation in the case.
On the other hand, the driver underwent a breathalyzer test, which yielded a negative result.
In this context, one of the survivors of the tragic accident said that the driver would have confessed that he fell asleep at the wheel before the bus overturned and fell into the ravine.
This is Alexandro de Oliveira Gamaro, who managed to save himself by grabbing onto a seat,
The passenger stated, “I was outraged and went up to the driver and asked ‘man, how did you throw me off a cliff on a straightaway?’ and the driver looked me in the face and said ‘man, I fell asleep.’ I had no reaction. I know he didn’t do it on purpose, but I didn’t react.”
On the other hand, the local media RIC Mais spoke with the company responsible for the vehicle, which in a statement regretted what happened and said that it will investigate the reason for the rollover together with the authorities. The vehicle, according to the company, left Florianópolis at 4:40 p.m. on Monday for Foz de Iguazú, in western Paraná.
In this framework, the responsible company announced that it had teams in place providing assistance to passengers and family members. He also reinforced his “commitment to security” and announced that he will be available to the authorities for clarification.
moments of despair
Another survivor of the accident reported, before the media present, moments of despair: “We got dragged out.”
This is businessman Alex de Souza Marques, 30, who is originally from Foz de Iguazú. The man explained that he was sitting by the window and that he woke up when he heard horn noises.
“I don’t usually sleep on these trips, I’m scared because I’ve been injured before, and I saw people honking, because they were eating the other track. I saw him cross lanes about five times in the middle of the trip. When the mistake occurred, (the driver) got out without a scratch and I asked him what happened and he said: ‘sorry, I’m not going to lie to you, I slept at the wheel,’” the passenger alleged.
Marques also recalled that people were screaming for help and looking for a way to get out of the bus in the dark.
“There were a lot of injured people, screaming and it was dark. They broke the top and we crawled out and up the road,” she said.
In addition, the businessman added that he and his brother-in-law were returning from a trip to travel to the Camboriú Spa, where they boarded.
