Venezuela’s Caracas: The horrific 17-vehicle pile-up on a Venezuelan highway resulted in at least 16 fatalities and six more grave injuries, the nation’s fire director Juan Gonzalez said AFP on Wednesday.
Gonzalez said, “So far there are 16,” when questioned about the number of those killed in the collision that occurred earlier in the day on the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho highway, which links the nation’s capital, Caracas, with the east.
The incident’s eight deaths were first reported by Carlos Perez Ampueda, deputy minister for risk management and civil protection, but he issued a warning that the figure would “increase significantly.”
According to Perez Ampueda, a truck traveling at a high speed collided with other automobiles, causing a pile-up that included 17 vehicles.
On Wednesday morning, pictures of the massive flames at the accident site went viral on social media.
Perez Ampueda said, “We have control of all the vehicles that were on fire,” including a bus that was totally destroyed by flames.