Brazil bus crash kills at least 23 and injures five in Parana state

The bus was travelling to hospitals near Curitiba when the accident occurred.

At least 23 people have been killed and five others injured after a bus carrying patients and healthcare workers to hospitals collided head-on with a truck in southern Brazil, authorities said.

The crash occurred in the early hours of Wednesday on the BR-373 highway in the state of Parana, near the city of Ipiranga, according to the Federal Highway Police.

After the accident, Parana Governor Ratinho Junior declared three days of official mourning across the state.

“It’s a very sad day for Parana,” said Junior.

Most of those killed were travelling on the bus, which belonged to the municipal health department of Imbituva. The truck driver was also killed.

The bus was carrying patients and their companions to hospitals in and around Parana’s capital, Curitiba, about 180 kilometres (110 miles) away, police said.

Preliminary evidence suggests the truck crossed into the opposite lane before colliding with the bus, according to authorities. Investigators are working to determine what caused the truck to veer across the highway.

Footage from TV Globo shows the truck parked on grass on the side of the road and the crushed minibus, with shattered glass and belongings of the passengers strewn on the ground.

The five people who survived the crash were taken to hospitals in the nearby city of Ponta Grossa, according to local media reports.

The highway was closed in both directions following the crash. Road operator Via Araucaria said in a post on X that there was “no estimated time” for the road to be reopened.

Local authorities have also been helping relatives of those travelling on the bus, offering psychological support to families, according to the municipality. The identities of those killed have not been released at the time of publication.