Potosi, Bolivia — A collision involving two buses in Bolivia’s western Potosi area has left at least 37 people dead and numerous others injured, according to local officials and police.
On the road between the cities of Uyuni and Colchani, the collision occurred on Saturday at 7 am local time, when one of the cars veered into the oncoming lane.
The Salar de Uyuni, a popular tourist destination and the largest salt flat in the world at over 10,000 square kilometers, is accessible from Uyuni.
According to the spokeswoman, police are trying to identify the victims of the murders as well as the injured and hospitalized.
Oruro, the site of one of Latin America’s most significant carnival events, was the destination of one of the buses.
Images taken by Radio Uyuni showed multiple victims wrapped in blankets scattered across the high Andean flatlands, as police officials rescued survivors from the steel wreckage.
Passengers saw one of the two drivers, who both survived the collision, drinking alcohol, according to a police spokesperson.
In regards to this, around 1,400 people are killed annually on Bolivia’s steep, poorly maintained, and unmonitored roads, making them some of the deadliest in the world.