7 Die in Brazil in head-on crash of bus and tanker truck

Last Updated on Monday, 15 December 2014, 22:33 by GxMedia

Rio de Janeiro, Dec 15 (EFE).- At least seven people died Monday in a crash between a public transport bus and a tanker truck loaded with fuel on a highway in the northeastern Brazilian state of Piaui, officials said.

The crash occurred around 10:00 a.m. local time at just 3 kilometers (almost 2 miles) from Monsenhor Gil, a municipality in the central part of the state, Federal Highway Police said.

Only three people on the bus, which was apparently carrying eight passengers and two drivers, survived the violent crash of the two vehicles and the ensuing tanker explosion, and were taken with serious injuries to a hospital in Teresina, the capital of Piaui.

Among the survivors were the bus driver and a 5-year-old girl who suffered burns on her face and legs.

The bus of the Transbrasiliana line had left the city of Goiania on Sunday night and was headed for Teresina.

According to witnesses, the bus driver was apparently trying to pass another vehicle on a curve and crashed head-on into the tanker truck.