A traffic accident that occurred this Monday on the Vereda–San Antonio de los Baños road in the province of Artemisa resulted in at least one death, five serious injuries, and dozens of other wounded, as reported by the newspaper El Artemiseño.
The vehicle involved was transporting young people returning to their military unit after enjoying their leave, which makes the incident a new tragedy affecting recruits of the Military Service in Cuba.
The captain Reinaldo Cicilia Salazar, head of the Traffic Unit Detachment of Artemisa, noted that "preliminary data and testimonies indicate a loss of control of the vehicle," although experts are still investigating the exact causes of the crash.
The injured were immediately transferred to the Iván Portuondo General Teaching Hospital in San Antonio de los Baños.
Given the condition of several injured individuals, the authorities coordinated their transfer to the Calixto García General Hospital and the Juan Manuel Márquez Pediatric Hospital in Havana.
The surgeons Pedro Luis Rivera Pérez and Osniel Enrique Pulido specified the extent of the injuries: four adults were injured, including the driver of the vehicle; five young people are reported in critical condition; and nearly twenty others remain under observation with no risk to their lives.
At the end of the report, the local outlet confirmed the death of an adult.
This accident adds to a series of serious traffic incidents that have shaken Artemisa over the past year. In July 2025, a bus overturned on the road to Las Terrazas, leaving more than 20 injured; and last September, a 16-year-old teenager lost his life in a collision between a car and a motorcycle in Las Mangas.
According to data from the National Road Safety Commission, Cuba recorded 750 fatalities and 6,718 injuries in 7,538 accidents during 2025, with an 18% increase in deaths compared to the first quarter of 2024.
The human factor was identified as responsible for 92% of the incidents and 98% of the deaths.
The death of young individuals linked to military service has also raised increasing public concern. In May 2025, two recruits from Mandatory Military Service died in a traffic accident in Mariel, also in the province of Artemisa.
In addition, last March, a 19-year-old young man passed away during military service in Havana under circumstances that also caused distress.
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