At least 23 people have lost their lives, including two minors, and another five have been injured this Wednesday in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck at the height of Ipiranga, in the state of Paraná, in southern Brazil.
"Preliminary tests suggest that the truck invaded the opposite lane, colliding head-on with the minibus. The circumstances are being analyzed through an investigation at the accident site," stated the Federal Highway Police.
According to the first data provided by the authorities, three of the injured have been evacuated in serious condition and two others have moderate injuries. Most of the victims were traveling on the bus, which belongs to the Health Department of the City Council of Imbituva, located west of Curitiba, the state capital.
The accident occurred around 3:30 a.m. (local time) at kilometer 209 of the road, which forced the authorities to completely close that stretch, which is a single lane, for about seven hours, according to the newspaper "O Globo".