Crash survivors report hearing a loud noise just before bus veered off the highway

Survivors of Wednesday’s deadly bus accident on the Cuenca-Molleturo highway say there was a loud noise seconds before the San Luis Cooperative bus veered off the roadway and burst into flames. Radio Tomebamba reporter Iván Velesaca quoted one hospitalized woman as saying the “trip was going calmly and smoothly” before she heard a loud noise.

Cuenca firemen extinguish flames that engulfed a Cuenca-to-Guayaquil bus following a Wednesday crash.

The daughter of another survivor told a Transportation Ministry employee that her father and other passengers heard “a bang and felt a thump” just before the wreck.

Fourteen passengers on the Cuenca-to-Guayaquil bus died in the accident while another 29 are injured, 16 of which remain hospitalized at Vicente Corral Moscoso Hospital in Cuenca.

In a Thursday news conference, San Luis Cooperative, operator of the bus involved in the crash, said the seven-year-old bus had recently been inspected and found to be in good condition. “The unit met all the requirements and passed all aspects of the technical inspection,” said company representative Alexandra Sacasari. “The driver, Washington Bustos, had an excellent driving record with no violations in his 15 years with San Luis.”

Bustos and his assistant Segundo Quezada died in the accident.

The Cuenca Fire Department, the first first-responders to arrive at the scene, found the bus engulfed in flames less than 10 meters off the highway. “As a professional fire fighter, it was one of the worsts scenes I personally, or my men, have ever witnessed,” said Cuenca Fire Chief Sixto Heras. “It was very difficult emotionally since we knew people were being burned alive. We had to put out the fire before we could begin rescue work. It is a difficult situation to describe.”

Heras added that the section of highway where the crash happened has been the scene of many other accidents. “There is a pronounced slope and a tight curve in the roadway, and potholes in the pavement add to the risk,” he said. “We don’t know if this was the result of human or mechanical failure or road conditions.”

He added that the official investigation is being conducted by the Transportation Ministry’s Traffic Accidents Investigation Office.