The bus transporting the baseball team Industriales to Pinar del Río was involved in a traffic accident after a car collided with the vehicle carrying the players. Fortunately, all members of the capital delegation emerged unscathed.
The news was confirmed at 8:00 AM this Tuesday by journalist and sports 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 entered the lane where the blue team's vehicle was traveling and collided with it.
“The incident occurred when a car entered the lane where the blue team’s bus was traveling, causing a collision. Although the vehicle sustained significant damage, fortunately, no injuries were reported among the members of Industriales or the other parties involved,” he detailed.
The spokesperson confirmed that the players, coaches, and executives of Industriales were in good condition after the incident.
“According to direct information, all the players of Industriales, as well as the members of their management and coaching staff, are in perfect condition,” he wrote.
JuanK also announced that the capital team was ready to continue their journey to the Capitán San Luis stadium, where they were set to play the first game of the subseries against Pinar del Río.
"The team is in good spirits and ready to move, in the next few hours, to the Capitán San Luis stadium, where they will play against Pinar del Río in the first game of this subseries," he stated.
The page Cuba Grand Slam was among the first to report the incident, stating that “a car crossed the road and ended up crashing into the vehicle transporting the players”.
Osbel Benítez Polo confirms the condition of the players and reveals where the accident occurred
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 spoken with athletes from Industriales and officials from Baseball in Pinar del Río, ensuring that the team is doing well, with no health complications for any athlete,” the commentator stated.
Benítez Polo specified that the accident occurred on Monday, October 19, when the bus was traveling through the municipality of San Cristóbal, in the province of Artemisa, during its journey to Pinar del Río.
According to testimonies received from several players, a car collided with the front part of the vehicle transporting the capital delegation.
"The bus had an accident yesterday while traveling through the Artemisa municipality of San Cristóbal, when it collided with a car in the front, according to several baseball players. However, there were no injuries to any team members," explained the journalist.
Another relevant piece of information provided by Osbel Benítez Polo relates to the photographs of the accident that began circulating on social media.
The journalist stated that the captain of Industriales, Yaser Julio González, asserted that the images circulated do not reflect the current condition of the capital's bus at all.
The clarification is significant because several publications shared images of a bus that appeared to be severely damaged, which raised concerns among the team's followers.
In that same vein, the page Roberto Deportes warned about the circulation of false photographs related to the accident.
"The written information about the team's situation is real, but the image of the crashed bus being shared on social media is false and is believed to have been generated using artificial intelligence," the post stated.
Industriales will play against Pinar del Río at 1:30 PM
Osbel Benítez Polo also reported that Industriales and Pinar del Río are scheduled to face each other this Tuesday, October 20, at 1:30 p.m., at the Capitán San Luis stadium, as part of the 65th National Baseball Series.
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 within the 65th National Baseball Series, scheduled from October 19 to 22 in the capital of Pinar del Río.
Both teams are in Group A of the Western Zone of the tournament, along with Artemisa and Isla de la Juventud.
The championship started on October 4 with a reduced format of 44 games per team, compared to the usual 90, due to the severe fuel crisis affecting Cuba.
Industriales arrives at this subseries after winning the IV Elite League 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 issues of Cuban equipment
The accident involving Industriales adds to other incidents and difficulties that have affected the travel of Cuban baseball teams in recent years, although there are no signs that this collision was caused by mechanical issues or the condition of the bus.
In June 2023, the vehicle of the Vegueros de Pinar del Río was involved in an accident in Havana while transporting the players to the hotel in the Villa de 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.
For now, no official report has been released by the Cuban sports or transit authorities detailing the causes of the accident that occurred in San Cristóbal or the extent of the material damages.
Related videos:
Filed under: