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News > Ecuador

Four-Day Ecuador Carnival Leaves 55 Dead, 33 in Road Accidents

  • In Ecuador, road accidents are the leading cause of deaths in the country.

    In Ecuador, road accidents are the leading cause of deaths in the country. | Photo: EFE

Published 26 February 2020
Opinion

One of the major incidents left eight people dead and 29 injured in the coastal province of Guayas, when a public bus and a trailer collided.

More than 50 people died, and more than 170 were injured in Ecuador during the country’s four-day Carnival holiday, officials said on Tuesday.

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Juan Zapata, director-general of Ecuador’s security services, gave a preliminary estimate in a press conference as the event began Saturday.

“The [security services] have so far recorded 33 dead and 171 injuries (traffic accidents). Public Safety [has recorded] 15 (homicides) and risk management seven (drownings), which gives an unfortunate balance of 55 people killed and 171 injured and injured,” he said.

He added they had 5,865 surveillance cameras and that security services received 173,996 calls – 56,688 of them emergencies – during the four days.

Juan Pazos, the transit authorities representative, reported at the press conference that 139 traffic accidents took place countrywide, leaving 33 dead and 171 injured. Ecuador has one of the highest rates of mortality on the roads in South America.

Pablo Rodriguez, the police’s operations director, said 25,181 patrol operations reported as of 6:00 am local time Tuesday.

He said 353 people were arrested for various crimes, 19 criminal organizations were dismantled, 41 firearms were seized and more than 900 kilograms of drugs seized.

Several cities of the coast and the south of the country suffered floods due to heavy rains, which forced the evacuation of several people.

In other areas, there were traffic complications from landslides that affected the roads.

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