At least eight people were killed and 14 injured this Wednesday in a multi-vehicle collision on a highway near the Venezuelan capital, local authorities said.
The accident, involving 17 vehicles, occurred at the exit of the Turumo tunnel, causing a fire that affected all four lanes and brought traffic to a standstill on the approach to Caracas.
The undersecretary of Risk Management and Civil Protection, Carlos Pérez Apueda, said on Network X that the accident was “caused by a collision between a cargo vehicle and vehicles that were at the scene due to a previous incident.”
According to local radio, the accident occurred at 7:15 am local time (11:15 Lisbon time), fifteen minutes after the first collision, the victims were taken to several hospitals.
Several social media users noted the lack of signage and the poor condition of the route, highlighting that the road is uneven and has potholes.
Portuguese emigrants and descendants of Portuguese people indicated that the problems of the highway, which is used by many members of the Portuguese community, are known.
“There are sections of the highway with potholes and no lights or signs. When it starts to get dark things become more dangerous and there are areas where there is no cell phone signal. If anything happens, people will also become victims of crime,” said Portuguese descendant Juan Correia, who was recently involved in an accident on his way back from Higuerote to Caracas.