Officials report that at least eight persons have been killed on the outskirts of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.
A truck collided with several vehicles stopping on the highway following an earlier collision.
One of the vehicles was operating while carrying an extremely combustible substance.
According to footage from the scene, fire has engulfed the highway connecting the communities of Guarenas and Caracas.
Caracas has mobilized emergency services and firefighters to extinguish the blaze and attend to those who have been injured.
Detailed Account of Miranda State Accident
The governor of Miranda state, where the accident occurred after 07:00 local time (11:00 GMT), reported that sixteen vehicles were engulfed in flames.
Social media depicts a destroyed passenger bus on its roof while traveling the highway.
Carlos Pรฉrez Ampueda, the deputy minister of risk management, provided a detailed account of the tragic events.
“On the Caracas-Guarenas carriageway, where old asphalt was being replaced, a truck and three cars were involved in a minor collision,” he told the local radio station Uniรณn Radio.
He stated that a truck subsequently plowed into the collision site. “The first accident happened at 07:00 and the second at 07:15,” according to him.
Furthermore, “poor meteorological conditions” may have prevented the truck driver from observing the location of the initial collision.
Locals, however, complained on social media that road maintenance had been neglected throughout much of Venezuela during the country’s economic crisis.
According to some, many recent accidents have been attributed to heavy cargo vehicles that have received inadequate maintenance.
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