GUATEMALA CITY, March 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 32 indigenous Guatemalans were killed and nine admitted to hospitals in critical condition on Wednesday night when they were struck on a highway by a semi-trailer truck in the town of Nahuala in the country’s west, rescue workers said.
The accident occurred at the entry point to the western town of Nahuala, which has a population of around 65,000, the majority of whom are K’iche’ Maya.
“Personnel from the Departmental Municipal Firefighters have counted at least 30 dead people at this point,” spokesman Cecilio Chacaj told reporters.
The group had congregated at the site of a hit-and-run accident that had killed a resident of their neighborhood when they in turn were hit by the truck, Chacaj added.
The driver fled the scene in his truck and his whereabouts are unknown.
“At this time we are coordinating our response to bring full support to the relatives of the victims,” President Jimmy Morales wrote in a post on Twitter.
“My heartfelt condolences.”
Local reports said the man killed in the first accident was a community leader and president of the state Council of Urban and Rural Development.
The truck did not have its lights on when it struck the group of people which may have been why the driver did not spot them, according to local media.
The crash marked one of the country’s worst traffic accidents in recent years. In 2013, a bus plunged off a cliff in rural Guatemala, killing at least 43 people and injuring dozens.
Guatemala, a Central American country of about 16.5 million people, has a poor road safety record and traffic rules are frequently ignored. — NNN-AGENCIES
