Bus was carrying 53 farmworkers when it collided with a pick-up truck in central Florida, authorities say.
Not less than eight individuals have been killed after a bus carrying farmworkers within the US state of Florida collided with a pick-up truck, authorities stated.
The bus was transporting 53 farmworkers when it collided with the truck in Marion County, north of Orlando, on Tuesday morning, the Florida Freeway Patrol stated.
About 40 passengers had been transported to hospitals for minor accidents, stated James Lucas, the general public info officer for Marion County Hearth Rescue.
The employees had been headed to select melons at Cannon Farms in Dunnellon, a small farming neighborhood in Marion County.
Authorities say the bus swerved off a highway, crashed by a fence and ended up on its facet in a area.
“We might be closed as we speak out of respect to the losses and accidents endured early this morning within the accident that passed off to the Olvera Trucking Harvesting Corp,” Cannon Farms introduced on its Fb web page.
Cannon Farms describes itself as a family-owned business farming operation that has farmed its land for greater than 100 years, focusing now on peanuts and watermelons, which it sends to grocery shops throughout the USA and Canada.
“Please pray with us for the households and the family members concerned on this tragic accident. We recognize your understanding at this tough time,” it stated.
The victims’ identities weren’t but made public as details about the crash continued to trickle in on Tuesday morning.
Photographs aired by native TV information stations confirmed a white bus laying on its facet in a grassy area subsequent to the freeway. Police and different emergency responders had been on the scene.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Workplace stated West Freeway 40, the place the crash passed off, could be closed for many of the day.