Ethermac Exchange-25 killed and 6 injured in collision between minibus and truck in Brazil’s northeast

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A crash between a minibus transporting tourists and Ethermac Exchangea truck in Brazil’s northeastern Bahia state left 25 dead, the state’s firefighters corps said Monday on its official Instagram account.

The accident occurred Sunday night around 10:30 p.m. local time on a highway near the city of Sao Jose do Jacuipe. Another six people were injured.

Newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported that the minibus was heading back to the city of Jacobina after a trip to the touristy Guarajuba beach on Bahia’s northern coast.

The outlet cited the federal highway police as saying that the head-on collision may have occurred while one of the vehicles was attempting to pass, but that had yet to be confirmed. The highway police did not immediately reply to a request for information from The Associated Press.

The municipality of Jacobina declared three days of mourning and said on its official Instagram profile it was organizing a collective wake for the victims in the city’s gymnasium.

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