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MIAMI, March 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Several people are believed killed or injured in a bus accident in Arica, Chile. The guests were sailing aboard Celebrity Cruises' Millennium. They were on an independent private tour, not affiliated with the cruise line.
The accident occurred at approximately 4:30 p.m. local time. The injured have been taken to a local hospital, and a doctor and nurse from Millennium have been sent to the hospital to assist the injured and notify the families of the deceased.
The ship is currently sailing a 14-night South American cruise that departed Valparaiso, Chile, on March 19 and is scheduled to conclude in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on April 2.
The cause of the accident has not been determined, and Celebrity Cruises is working in close coordination with Chilean authorities to assist in their investigation.
Celebrity Cruises will provide additional information regarding this matter as it becomes available. Information will also be posted on the Celebrity Cruises web site at http://www.celebrity.com.
I was reading somewhere else where they were saying that buses in South America are not always well maintained and that roads do not always have bumper guards near drop off areas.
Chilean Tour Bus Crash Kills 12 Americans
Wednesday, March 22, 2006Associated Press
SANTIAGO, Chile — A bus carrying cruise ship tourists plunged 300 feet down a mountainside in northern Chile Wednesday, killing 12 Americans, officials said.
Two other Americans and two Chileans, the driver and the tour guide, were hospitalized in serious condition following the crash along a rugged highway near the Pacific port city of Arica, 1,250 miles north of Santiago, said Juan Carlos Poli, an Arica city hall spokesman.
"We have confirmed that all the victims were American citizens," Poli told the Associated Press speaking by telephone from the hospital. The victims weren't identified further.
Tour bus plummets into canyon, kills 12
Excerpt (new info below - short video clip of news coverage from Chile within link above):
The bus was returning to the ship from a national park near the Bolivian border when it swerved off the highway and into a 260-foot canyon, Valcarce said. Survivors were transported to Dr. Juan Noe Regional Hospital in Arica, 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) north of Santiago.
Excerpt:
The tourists were returning to Celebrity Cruises' ship Millennium, docked in Arica, from an excursion to nearby Lauca National Park when the crash occurred.
The driver reported that he lost control of the bus while swerving to avoid a truck approaching on a collision course, Poli said. The truck went off the narrow highway and tumbled nearly 300 feet down a mountainside.
He said the bus had a capacity of 16 passengers and "was totally destroyed."
The accident occurred 25 miles northeast of Arica on the road to the Bolivian capital city of La Paz, he said.
U.S. Embassy spokesman John Vance, who also confirmed the 12 U.S. deaths, said the embassy was sending consular officers to Arica.
The ship was scheduled to leave for Peru early Monday, but the departure was postponed in the wake of the accident, police said. He said it isn't clear when it will leave.
[ 03-22-2006: Message edited by: jsea ]
Excerpts:
ARICA, Chile – The Chilean government and a Miami-based cruise line distanced themselves Thursday from the operator of a tour bus that plunged down an Andean cliff, killing 12 elderly tourists from New Jersey and Connecticut.
Celebrity Cruises said Andino Tours, whose white bus tumbled more than 300 feet Wednesday afternoon, wasn't among the agencies it authorizes to run side trips for passengers during port stops. It also said the victims made their own arrangements to visit a national park.
Chilean officials said Andino Tours had not yet received official approval. The bus, which had a capacity of 16 passengers, wasn't registered to carry tourists, the officials said.
[...]
Officials suspect the driver fell asleep, lead investigator Manuel Gonzalez told Radio Cooperativa.
They were returning to the Millennium when the bus swerved to avoid an approaching truck and plunged off the rugged highway, tumbling down a rocky incline and coming to rest on its side, City Hall spokesman Juan Carlos Poli said.
Rescue crews found the bodies of the victims spread in an area around the crushed bus. Recently purchased local handicrafts were scattered among their belongings.
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