Bus accident in France: this is the state of health of the injured Colombians

The Colombian ambassador to France, Alfonso Prada, presented this Monday an update on the accident that occurred in the Pyrenees and left two dead, apparently two Colombian citizens, and 40 injured, including 32 Colombians.

In a statement, read on video, Prada assured that the “consul of Paris (France), Nicolas Martinezmoved to the city of Toulouse and visited the Merge Anfarn hospital. “He had contact with hospital managers and also with the Colombians who are receiving care there.” There, he said, two adults already were discharged and a minor “who does not present any risk (…) he will surely be transferred with his family tomorrow to Barcelona.”

Also read: Colombian speaks who survived an accident in France: “The bus runs out of brakes and goes down at full speed”

Prada explained that, in general, the Colombians who were injured in the accident are out of danger.

The ambassador, on the other hand, said that “the consul of Barcelona (Spain), German Grisalesvisited the hospitals of Valdebron, St. Paul and for Tahuli, and in relation to the Colombians who were transferred, the largest number, Puig Zerda, were discharged for minor injuries, in such a way that the balance is good in the midst of this tragedy.”

“The Chancellery, the Presidency of the Republic, and the missions of Spain and Colombia, all united, (are) working alongside the Colombians, yeWe hope to accompany you until we fully overcome this tragedy. and they can share this Christmas with their families,” added the Colombian diplomat.

What is known about the causes of the accident?

The bus that crashed this Sunday near the French Pyrenees suffered a problem in the gear lever before the accident – which caused two deaths – and at one point it ran out of brakes, as explained this Monday by the daughter of the trip organizer and passenger of the bus. vehicle.

Also read: Serious bus accident in France: 31 Colombians were injured and 2 dead

“There was something wrong with the gear lever, I don’t know what was happening, and the man still continued driving. Later on, the car started to go down super fast and (the driver) started saying ‘it doesn’t brake, it doesn’t brake, it doesn’t stop,” said Jennifer Cardona in an interview with a local network.

Cardona, who was the one who called the French emergency services and who was injured as a result of the incident, explained that “it was decided to throw the car to the side”, and also to crash “against the rock to be able to stop”.

The accident took place on Sunday in the town of Porté-Puymorens, in the French Pyrenees, where the vehicle collided with a stone wall and overturned.

The bus left the outskirts of Barcelona bound for the Principality of Andorra on a shopping excursion organized for Black Friday. On the way back home, and for reasons that are being investigated, the driver lost control of the vehicle, which first hit a ledge and subsequently overturned on the road.

According to diplomatic sources, 47 passengers were traveling on the bus, of which 32 were Colombians residing in Spain, aged between two and 67 years, in addition to one Ecuadorian citizen and another Moroccan.

Also read: President Petro regrets bus accident in France where 31 Colombians were injured

“I am very sorry for the people who died but this was an accident, it was not intentional, without words, I know that this was very hard for everyone but believe me, we just wanted to go have a good time, nothing more,” lamented Cardona.

The daughter of the trip organizer has detailed that “this is not the time to look for blame” and that nothing similar had ever happened on previous outings: “It just happened and together we tried to save our lives,” she added.

Caracol News – AFP

The injured, who have been transferred to different hospital centers in Spain and France, mostly have fractures, trauma, burns and crush injuries.

The Spanish police are “at the disposal” of the French authorities to collaborate in the investigation into the accident.

The driver was operating with a vehicle that he had rented four years ago from the company Hispa Bus, which confirmed today to Efe that he rented the bus for commercial use and had all the licenses and the corresponding insurance.