Related videos:
A Diana bus with 25 passengers overturned this afternoon at kilometer 448 of the Central Highway, in the section between Jicotea and Las Coloradas, Ciego de Ávila municipality, leaving eight people injured, three of whom are minors, according to Periódico Invasor on their social media and confirmed by Radio Surco.
The accident occurred at approximately 6:20 PM this Sunday. The vehicle, belonging to the Provincial Transport Company, was returning from a recreational area when it overturned, and the causes are still under investigation.
The preliminary report from the Doctor Antonio Luaces Iraola Provincial Hospital recorded eight admissions resulting from the accident. Luis Manuel Martínez Martínez, head of the Orthopedics Department at the center, provided details regarding the condition of those affected to Periódico Invasor.
"This evening, the emergency service received eight patients from the accident, three of whom are minors," the specialist stated.
Among adults, the most serious injury involves a patient with an open wrist luxation fracture. According to Martínez Martínez, "she must be treated soon in the emergency room," although he clarified that "no serious injuries or fatalities have been reported as a result of the incident."
Regarding the three minors, the doctor stated that "it was decided to keep them under observation for a few hours at the institution." The rest of the patients, he added, "exhibit minor lacerations or abrasions that do not pose significant complexity concerning their recovery."
The 17 remaining occupants of the bus were unharmed. The vehicle was carrying a total of 25 people at the time of the incident.
The news activated the provincial emergency protocols. The first secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Julio Gómez Casanova, and the head of the MININT in the province, Colonel Luis Ernesto Castellanos Dobao, traveled to the accident site, where they oversaw the rescue efforts and the initial investigation.
The accident occurs in a province with a recent history of serious traffic incidents. In January 2025, two buses collided on the Morón-Turiguanó highway, resulting in seven fatalities and 59 injuries, attributed to human error by the driver under severe fog conditions. In July of that same year, a state vehicle overturned in Majagua, also in Ciego de Ávila, leading to three deaths—two of whom were minors—and 16 injured.
The national road safety outlook is not encouraging either. In 2025, Cuba recorded 7,538 traffic accidents resulting in 750 fatalities and 6,718 injuries, a death toll higher than that of 2024, when there were 634 fatalities in a similar number of incidents. The main causes identified by official statistics are the lack of attention to vehicle control, responsible for 30% of cases, and failure to yield the right of way, accounting for 29.9%.
This picture is compounded by the structural crisis of public transportation in Cuba: deteriorating fleets, fuel shortages, and inadequate maintenance increase the risks with every trip. In March 2026, a bus in Cienfuegos left 48 injured, including seven minors, in another incident that highlights the recurrence of these mass accidents with vulnerable passengers on board.
The provincial authorities of Ciego de Ávila announced that an official report will be issued in the coming hours, providing further details on the causes of the overturn and the condition of the injured.
Filed under: