adminAn unfinished overpass collapsed in the Brazilian World Cup host city of Belo Horizonte on Thursday, killing at least two people, emergency officials said.
Television images showed the front of a passenger bus crushed by the overpass, which was located about two 3km from the Mineirão Stadium where World Cup games are being played. Other vehicles were also crushed underneath the wreckage.
Two people died and 19 were injured, a spokeswoman for the Minas Gerais state health department told Reuters on Thursday. The mayor’s office put the injury toll at 22. A fire department spokesman said there was still one person trapped in a car, and possibly others.
Renata Soares, who said she was on the bus at the moment of the accident, told GloboNews TV: “We were travelling normally and then there was a terrible noise. I am sure that more people in other cars were underneath the debris.”
GloboNews TV showed video of bloodied passengers of the bus staggering away from the wreckage, screaming. Later, pictures near the scene showed people holding signs that said, “This is the reality of the Cup” and “World Cup disaster: put it on Fifa’s bill.”
“This is the incompetence of our authorities and our businesses,” said Leandro Brito, 23, a bank worker. “Because of the World Cup they sped everything up to finish faster. That’s why this tragedy has happened. They are not making things properly. Everyone is very angry.” — Guardian
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