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A bus from the state-owned company Transtur collided this Sunday morning with a power pole on a street in the municipality of Trinidad, in the province of Sancti Spíritus, causing a malfunction in circuit 60 and leaving residents in the area without electrical service.
According to reports on , the accident occurred on a cobblestone street in the historic center of the city. Images of the incident show how bus number 4936 was embedded against a house, with the windshield shattered and an electric pole knocked down onto the roof of the vehicle.
Line repair brigades from the Base Business Unit (UEB) of the Basic Electric Organization in Trinidad arrived at the site to carry out repair work and restore the supply as quickly as possible. So far, no injuries have been reported among the occupants of the bus or the local residents.
Impact on the electrical service in Trinidad
Circuit 60, affected by the crash, is one of those experiencing scheduled power outages due to the energy crisis the country is facing.
According to official data, Trinidad has 17 electrical circuits (5 in the urban area and the rest in rural areas), of which only two are protected from power outages: 93 and 94, which supply the hospital and essential services of the city.
Another accident added to the long list of incidents involving Transtur
This accident adds to a series of recent incidents involving Transtur buses in Cuba, raising concerns about the safety of these vehicles used for transporting tourists, as well as their maintenance.
Recently, a Transtur bus with tourists on board caught fire in Topes de Collantes in the province of Sancti Spíritus. There were no casualties, but the flames completely engulfed the vehicle.
At the beginning of September 2024, another Transtur bus crashed into a tree in Ciego de Ávila, causing damage to the road infrastructure and the vehicle.
In Santiago de Cuba, at the end of last August, a mass accident involving a Transtur bus left nine people injured.
In one of the most serious incidents of 2024 involving the transportation of international visitors, an accident in June left 26 Canadian tourists injured following a fatal collision on a road in Ciego de Ávila.
In Camagüey, in mid-January 2024, a Transtur bus crashed into a car, leaving seven injured.
The series of accidents raises questions about the technical condition of Transtur's fleet and the state of Cuban roads, amidst a transportation crisis and a lack of resources for the maintenance of these vehicles.
So far, Transtur has not made any statements regarding the causes of the incident or about possible sanctions for the driver involved.
Transtur is a state-owned Cuban company dedicated to tourist transportation on the island. It operates a fleet of buses and other vehicles for the transportation of national and foreign visitors, offering services at airports, tourist circuits, excursions, and vehicle rentals.
Transtur is part of the conglomerate Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), a powerful military holding that controls a significant portion of the Cuban economy, particularly in strategic sectors such as tourism, construction, and commerce.
GAESA, linked to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba (FAR), manages various companies through its subsidiary Grupo de Turismo Gaviota S.A., which oversees hotels, travel agencies, and transportation companies such as Transtur.
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