Skip to main content

Bus carrying pilgrims crashes in central Mexico; 19 killed, 32 wounded

The bus was heading to the religious site of Chalma when it apparently lost its brakes and slammed into a building, killing 19 people on board and wounding 32 more.

En route to the religious site of Chalma, the bus apparently lost its brakes and slammed into a building (Photo credits: Twitter)

Nineteen people died and 32 more were injured after a bus apparently carrying pilgrims to a religious site in central Mexico crashed on Friday.

State officials said the bus apparently lost its brakes and slammed into a building in the State of Mexico.

Six of the victims suffered injuries so severe they were flown to hospital in Toluca, the state capital.

Ricardo de la Cruz, the assistant state interior secretary, said the accident occurred in the township of Joquicingo, southwest of Mexico City.

The bus was heading from the western state of Michoacan to Chalma, a town that has been visited by Roman Catholic pilgrims for centuries.

ALSO READ | 14 clandestine graves found in northern Mexico, investigators suspect drug turf war

There was no immediate information on the condition of the injured passengers. Many Mexicans go on religious pilgrimages as December 12, the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, approaches.

Because they often walk or bike on narrow roads or travel in aging buses, accidents are not uncommon.

Mexico State borders Mexico City on three sides, and includes both remote rural villages and crowded suburbs of the capital.

Chalma was a site sacred in pre-Hispanic times before the 1521 conquest. After the Spanish came, believers say, a cross miraculously appeared in a cave that had been dedicated to an Aztec god, making Chalma a Christian pilgrimage site.

ALSO READ | Hours away from 30th birthday, Indian-origin techie dies in Mexico gang shootout

Click here for IndiaToday.in’s complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nokia T20 Android tablet may launch soon in India, confirms Flipkart teaser

Flipkart has apparently started teasing the launch of the Nokia T20 tablet in India ahead of Diwali. HIGHLIGHTSFlipkart’s banner for Nokia T20 confirms the launch may take place soon.The banner and a microsite for the tablet may have been pulled.HMD’s first tablet may be called Nokia Tab T20 in India. Nokia T20, which is HMD’s first tablet that runs on Android, is headed to India. According to a report, Flipkart has begun teasing the Nokia tablet in its Big Diwali Sale section, which means the launch is imminent. But, interestingly, Flipkart has listed the tablet as Nokia Tab T20, while the original name of the tablet is just Nokia T20. This may mean that HMD is thinking of an oversimplified name just to make Indian buyers understand what Nokia T20 is, which sounds about right. But I am not too sure about Flipkart’s name for the tablet because they are there mostly as placeholders. MySmartPrice has shared a screenshot of the listing of the Nokia Tab T20 on Flipkart. F...