Aug. 13 (UPI) — A dozen people were killed in Ecuador when a bus carrying a group of soccer fans crashed, authorities said.
A firefighter at the scene said the driver tried to cut off another vehicle, but ran off the road and flipped over Sunday.
Nearly three dozen people were hurt in the crash, officials said.
The group were fans of the soccer team Barcelona SC returning from a game in Cuenca.
“With much pain we received the news of the accident of our fans who traveled to Cuenca to encourage the team,” Barcelona SC Chairman Joseph Cevallos tweeted. “We made contact with the governor of Azuay, who told us that the injured are already being treated. Unfortunately, there are deaths.”
Cevallos also said a funeral chapel will be set up in the team’s stadium to honor the dead.
“Our heartfelt condolences for the families of the fans of Barcelona SC who died,” the official account of the Ecuadorian Football Federation tweeted.
Traffic accidents are among the leading causes of deaths in Ecuador, Pan American Health Organization data shows.
