by Michael Hone
Highway Patrol Closes Road After Accident
Update: (6:30 pm local time) Police are now saying that as many as 300 vehicles were involved in the pileup on the SP-150 Immigrants Highway this afternoon. The highway will remain closed while authorities search for more victims. Police expect the death toll to rise. There is no word on when the highway will reopen.
SAO PAULO, Brazil - A pileup involving about 50 vehicles, including cars, buses and trucks, completely blocked the Highway of Immigrants. According to the toll road concessionaire that operates the highway, Ecovias, the accident occurred at km 41 in Sao Bernardo do Campo at about 12:50 pm Thursday, reports O Globo Online.
The Fire Department said that it dispatched 10 rescue vehicles to the accident. Authorities also dispatched ambulances and Highway Patrol units. The Military Police (PM) said that responders rescued 17 victims as of 3:20 pm with minor injuries and 13 with serious injuries. Two people died at the scene including a bus driver.
The PM sent two helicopters to assist in rescues. Although they have not done an exact count of the number of vehicles involved, they estimated it at 50. They sent the injured to hospitals in Diadema, Maua, Santo Andre and Cubatao.
Traffic surveillance cameras showed a lot of fog in the region of the pileup, but the company did not know if the poor visibility caused the accident. Highway Patrol diverted traffic to Anchieta Highway.
A Twitter user on his way to Sao Paulo via the Highway of Immigrants (SP-150) minutes before the 50-vehicle pileup, which happened shortly after noon today local time, snapped an image of the foggy road.
The Twitter post accompanying the photo said: “Going back to Sampa. Galera q ta care climed the mountain. Mta fog.”
According to Piero Leonardi de Queiroz, he took the photo at the 43 km marker at about 12:40. That would be ten minutes and two kilometers before the accident in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo.
The report did not make clear if the Twitter user was the driver or a passenger in the car. Below is the photo taken by the Twitter poster.
Brazilian online news source: O Globo/terra.com.br
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