Bus accident with Dutch tourists in Ecuador: 2 Dutch people killed, 7 hospitalized | Abroad

The AFP news agency wrote earlier that the Dutch made the group bus trip and were aged between 41 and 75. The deceased was a 74-year-old woman from Harlem and a 73-year-old man from Hilversum. In addition, seven Dutchmen were hospitalized with injuries. Earlier, there were 12 Dutchmen injured, but that number has been revised down by the Eurocross emergency centre. A 55-year-old Ecuadorean was also taken to hospital. The director of the hospital in the city of Tina said that three injured were in critical condition.

The Ecuadorean Ministry of Health published a photo of the accident. Local police said the collision occurred in Tena, on the road between Tena and Baeza. This is in the province of Napo, north of the South American country. The drama happened yesterday at around 2:45 p.m. local time, according to “El Universo.” According to eyewitnesses who spoke to the newspaper, the bus driver with the Dutch lost control, hit a stone and then collided with an ordinary bus.

The bus carrying Dutch tourists overturned as a result of the collision and was the worst affected. Local media reported that other road users stopped and helped the wounded escape, and they can also be seen in video footage. Some even tried to break the windows of the tour bus so the Dutch could get out. The driver was trapped. Eyewitnesses indicated that the victims’ limbs were scattered across the street.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry has announced that it will provide consular assistance to the victims and their families in the Netherlands. There is also a connection to local authorities and the Eurocross emergency center, which coordinates practical assistance from the Netherlands. The emergency center says it is trying to move all members of the tour group to the Ecuadorean capital, Quito. There are bigger hospitals with better facilities for the injured. The organization is also sending its nurses and aid workers who also speak Spanish to Tina to help the wounded.

Road accidents are one of the leading causes of death in Ecuador. Since the beginning of this year, nearly 1,500 people have died in traffic accidents there. In July, a bus overturned in a suburb of the capital, Quito, killing eight people and injuring 20 others.