In brief
A deadly head‑on collision on Brazil’s BR‑373 highway on Wednesday morning killed 23 people, including two children, and injured five others. The minibus, operated by local health authorities, was transporting patients to a clinic in Ponta Grossa. The crash prompted an investigation by the federal highway police and closed the road for nearly seven hours. Brazil records tens of thousands of traffic deaths each year, with speeding, drunken driving, and mobile use frequently cited as causes.
At least 23 people, including two children, have been killed and five injured in a head‑on collision between a minibus and a lorry on the BR‑373 highway in southern Brazil.
The crash occurred early Wednesday local time in the state of Paraná, about 60 km (36 miles) from the city of Imbituva to Ponta Grossa.
Local media reported that the minibus belonged to the health authorities of Imbituva and was carrying patients and relatives to medical appointments in Ponta Grossa.
Brazil’s federal highway police opened an investigation to determine why the two vehicles collided.
Among those killed was the lorry driver. The highway was shut for almost seven hours while forensic investigators examined the wrecked vehicles at kilometer 209.
Road‑traffic accidents remain a serious problem in Brazil. A World Bank study showed that more than 34,000 people died in such incidents in 2023, most of them motorcyclists.
Common contributing factors cited by research include excessive speed, intoxicated driving, and mobile phone use while driving.
In February, a bus carrying pilgrims to a festival in Ceará killed 15 people after overturning on the road.
