The bus transporting the baseball team Industriales to Pinar del Río was involved in a traffic accident on Monday after a car collided with the vehicle carrying the players and other members of the capital team, who fortunately emerged unscathed.
The news was confirmed on the morning of this Tuesday by sports journalist and analyst Juan Carlos Guerra Alonso, known as “JuanK,” creator and executive director of Por La Goma, one of the most followed Cuban baseball pages on social media.
According to JuanK, the incident occurred when a car invaded the lane where the blue team's bus was traveling and collided with it.
"The incident occurred when a car crossed into the lane that the blue team’s bus was traveling on, causing a collision. Although the vehicle sustained considerable damage, fortunately, no injuries were reported among the members of Industriales or the other parties involved," it was detailed.
The spokesperson confirmed that all players, coaches, and officials of Industriales “are in perfect condition” after the incident.
JuanK also announced that the capital team was ready to continue its journey to Pinar del Río territory, where it will face the Pinar del Río team.
According to the report, "The team is doing well and ready to move, in the coming hours, to the Capitán San Luis Stadium, where it will face Pinar del Río in the first game of this subseries" of the 65th National Baseball Series.
Also, the page Cuba Grand Slam was among the first to report the incident, confirming that "a car crossed the road and ended up colliding with the vehicle carrying the players."
Team members' status confirmed
Subsequently, the sports journalist Osbel Benítez Polo provided additional information after directly communicating with members of the Industriales team and baseball executives in Pinar del Río.
"I have communicated with athletes from Industriales and executives from Baseball in Pinar del Río, confirming that the team is doing well, with no health complications for any athlete," the commentator stated.
Benítez Polo specified that the accident occurred this Monday, when the bus was traveling through the municipality of San Cristóbal, in the province of Artemisa, on its way to Pinar del Río.
"The bus had an accident yesterday while traveling through the Artemisa municipality of San Cristóbal, when it collided with a car at the front, according to several baseball players. However, there were no injuries to any members of the team," the journalist explained.
Another relevant detail provided by Benítez Polo pertains to the photographs of the accident that began to circulate on social media.
The captain of Industriales, Yaser Julio González, stated that the images circulated do not reflect the current condition of the capital bus at all.
The clarification is significant because several publications shared images of a bus that appeared to be heavily damaged, raising concerns among the team's followers.
In the same vein, the page Roberto Deportes warned about the circulation of fake photographs related to the accident.
"The written information about the team's situation is true, but the image of the crashed bus being shared on social media is false and appears to have been generated using artificial intelligence," the publication stated.
Industriales will play against Pinar del Río this Tuesday
Osbel Benítez Polo also reported that Industriales and Pinar del Río are scheduled to face each other this Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Capitán San Luis Stadium, as part of the 65th National Series of Baseball.
The announcement comes after it was confirmed that the players and the rest of the delegation from the capital are in good physical condition following the accident.
The sports context: Industriales in the 65th National Series
The accident occurred during the third subseries between Industriales and Pinar del Río in the 65th National Baseball Series, scheduled from October 19 to 22 in the capital of Pinar del Río.
Both teams are part of Group A of the Western Zone of the tournament, along with Artemisa and Isla de la Juventud.
The championship kicked off on October 4 with a reduced format of 44 games per team, down from the usual 90, due to the severe fuel crisis affecting Cuba.
Industriales arrives at this subseries after winning the IV Liga Élite on July 8, by defeating Las Tunas 4-1 in the final series, ending 16 years without national titles for the capital team.
The transportation problems of Cuban teams
The accident involving Industriales adds to other incidents and challenges that have affected the travel of Cuban baseball teams in recent years, although there are no indications that this collision was caused by mechanical issues or the condition of the bus.
In June 2023, the vehicle belonging to the Vegueros de Pinar del Río was involved in an accident in Havana while transporting players to the hotel in Bacuranao.
In 2024, the Leñadores de Las Tunas were stranded for a week in Havana due to a lack of fuel, unable to continue their sports tour.
At the moment, no official report from the Cuban sports or traffic authorities has been released detailing the causes of the accident that occurred in San Cristóbal or the extent of the material damages.
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