26 injured in Bogota public transit crash

(Photo: Bogota Fire Department)

Twenty-six people were injured Friday morning when three buses from Bogota’s Mass Transit and Public Transport System (Transmilenio) crashed in the Colombian capital, reported Bogota’s El Tiempo newspaper. 

No one was seriously injured as a result of the accident, reported El Tiempo, nor were any minors included among those taken to receive treatment at nearby hospitals.

The accident occurred at the intersection between the South Highway and Avenida 30 in the exclusive mass-transit lane. Transmilenio officials originally reported 16 injuries, a figure that has grown to 26. Authorities have since taken control of the scene, and transit officials have reported that public traffic will not be affected as a result.

The accident was reportedly caused by “the impudence of a motorcyclist,” who parked his vehicle in the middle of the restricted lane. The motorcyclist himself was not affected by the accident.

Firefighters were the first on the scene to attend the injured. At least 19 were reportedly  brought to various medical centers in the city.

The accident came just one day after El Tiempo reported a 300% increase in mass transit accidents during 2013.

MORE: Accidents on Bogota’s public transportation system triple in 2013: Report

There were 205 accidents in the first two months of 2014 alone, leaving 601 people injured and four dead, according to several news media allegedly in possession of the report. The report said that an average of six incidents occured everyday in 2013.

Sources

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