At least 23 people were killed and five others injured when a minibus and a truck collided head-on in Brazil’s southern Parana state early Wednesday, police said.
The crash occurred around 3:30 a.m. on a highway near Ipiranga, a city about 560 kilometers (350 miles) south of Sao Paulo, according to traffic police.
Preliminary investigations suggest the truck, which was empty at the time, crossed into the opposite lane and struck the minibus head-on.
The minibus was traveling from nearby Imbituva, while the truck was registered in Erechim city in the neighboring state of Rio Grande do Sul.
The minibus was carrying healthcare workers, patients and several family members, authorities said. Among the dead were 13 women, eight men and two children, according to the company operating toll facilities on the highway.
Three of the five injured people were in serious condition and were being taken to hospitals, police said.
Emergency personnel and police remained at the scene for several hours following the crash. The highway was closed for about seven hours as rescue and recovery operations continued.
Television footage showed the badly damaged minibus and the truck lying beside the road, with broken glass and passengers’ belongings scattered around the crash site.
The accident was the deadliest in the region since 2021, when 19 people were killed after a bus crashed near Curitiba.
Parana Gov. Ratinho Júnior declared three days of mourning following the tragedy.