NSR: Bus Crash in Chile

[bossass]

My Parents were on this cruise and my dad said in an email they drove by the wreck and saw the bodies. They were on the same tour, but about a half hour behind this bus.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americ...ash/index.html

ANTIAGO, Chile (CNN) -- A bus carrying tourists on a side trip through the mountains of northern Chile plunged into a canyon Wednesday, killing 12 people, all of them American, authorities said.

The bus was carrying 16 tourists from a Miami, Florida-based cruise ship, most of whom are believed to be American. Arica Mayor Patricia Perez announced the death toll, but local police said they would not confirm it until families had been notified.

John Vance, press attache to the U.S. Embassy in Santiago, confirmed that all of those killed were Americans.

Of those who survived the crash, some were in critical condition, said Maj. Carlos Valcarce, an Arica police spokesman. (Watch the scene of the deadly crash -- :48)

Two Americans and two Chileans survived the crash, Perez said.

The crash occurred about 4:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. ET). The tourists were among about 1,600 passengers from the Celebrity Cruises liner Millennium, which was docked in Arica as part of a two-week cruise that was slated to arrive back in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on April 2.

The bus was returning to the ship from a national park near the Bolivian border when it swerved off the highway and into a 260-foot canyon, Valcarce said. Survivors were transported to Dr. Juan Noe Regional Hospital in Arica, 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) north of Santiago. (Map)

The ship was carrying about 1,536 guests and 920 crew members, the cruise line said. It will remain in Arica until further notice.

The passengers were on an independent excursion not affiliated with Celebrity Cruise, the company said in a statement. A doctor and nurse were sent from the ship to help tend to the injured, and the cruise company is working closely with police to determine the cause of the wreck, it said.

[StuntCok]

I was in Chile last summer (winter) and those roads are hairy. The road up to Portillo was insane and, due to 4 days of closure was packed with an endless line of semis. We drove through the middle of them and it was the most scary experience of the trip...

[Tippster]

My condolences to the families of those lost, but I'm glad your folks are OK. Must put a big fucking damper on the rest of their vacation. Imagine trying to have fun and be merry after an experience like that.

[Jim S]

I was in Chile last summer (winter) and those roads are hairy. The road up to Portillo was insane and, due to 4 days of closure was packed with an endless line of semis. We drove through the middle of them and it was the most scary experience of the trip...

Ditto... the drive back was crazy

[dude_le_skibum]

i am not suprised,when i was down there, i use to have to take an hour long bus ride to go do groceries and well, the drivers were always trying to beat time.

[Squirrel99]

bossass, glad to hear your parents are okay.

I was on the road to Valle Nevado last fall. Craziest road I've ever been on- and with people in mini vans (including our driver) trying to pass people on blind corners with only a few meters space. just nuts. shit, california drivers wouldn't even try to pass on that terrain.

[bossass]

Glad I heard from my sister about this (she'd heard from my parents) before I saw it on the news. I probably would've shit my pants. The bus was a part of an independant tour not one offered by the cruise line. My parents always go this route while cruising, since the cruise ships rape you on shore excursions.

[Cono Este]

Glad to hear your parents are ok.

The Chileans are the worst drivers on the planet. Especially the Bus drivers. Those roads in the desert are two lanes with no center divider. There are these little dog houses every kilometer with flowers in front, marking the spots where people have collided head on.

That road up to Farrellones, my family used to drive it every weekend for 7 yrs. 42 switchbacks, before it was paved. These crazy fartbaggers in fiats used to pass us on the inside, almost forcing us off cliffs. We bought a Nissan Patrol, put monster tires on it, with brush guards front and rear, my Dad would ram them sometimes to stay on the road. No shit.

Insano

[grskier]

Tragic...

glad to hear your parents are OK. What a trip.

[MassLiberal]

Glad to hear your parents are ok.

The Chileans are the worst drivers on the planet. Especially the Bus drivers. Those roads in the desert are two lanes with no center divider. There are these little dog houses every kilometer with flowers in front, marking the spots where people have collided head on.

That road up to Farrellones, my family used to drive it every weekend for 7 yrs. 42 switchbacks, before it was paved. These crazy fartbaggers in fiats used to pass us on the inside, almost forcing us off cliffs. We bought a Nissan Patrol, put monster tires on it, with brush guards front and rear, my Dad would ram them sometimes to stay on the road. No shit.

Insano

Dude, The chileans are bad drivers, but at least there is some iota of order there. The peruvians are just retards. People ride on the top of the buses, on highways up the andes without gaurdrails let alone dividers, and I have seen my bus driver get out and have beer when I, unadvisably, took the bus from Cuzco to Ayacucho. I would have been better served riding a Burro.


Plus, the taxi drivers there blast their horns at you before the light turns, and I thought boston was bad...

[ill-advised strategy]

I'm picturing independence pass with semis busses and fast convertibles?

is that right?

[Cono Este]

Dude, The chileans are bad drivers, but at least there is some iota of order there. The peruvians are just retards. People ride on the top of the buses, on highways up the andes without gaurdrails let alone dividers, and I have seen my bus driver get out and have beer when I, unadvisably, took the bus from Cuzco to Ayacucho. I would have been better served riding a Burro.


Plus, the taxi drivers there blast their horns at you before the light turns, and I thought boston was bad...

You are probably right. I have heard about that ride up to machupichu. I was not remembering my trip to China either. That was pure chaos. I think I will skip India.

Sad story.

There is some cool ghost towns up there in the desert. When they invented synthetic gun power, the nitrate mines up there were abandoned overnight. I found this killer Round House for Locomotives, with all the trains just sitting there.

[MassLiberal]

Northern Chile? The history of that area is pretty interesting. I would have killed to go there. In fact, I think I'm going to bag this corporate shill job I've taken and try to find a teaching job in chile, any suggestions??

[RootSkier]

I know multiple gringos who have taught english in Santiago.

Wouldn't be my first choice, though.

I'd try for Bariloche, AR.

[MacDaddy]

This kinda shit happens in Latin America all the time.
We never hear about it until there are Americans killed for abvious reasons

Bus drivers down there drive real fast & use the whole road, and I mean the whole fuking road, they are loco!

[MassLiberal]

Root-

thanks for the tip.

[hoarhey]

Glad your parents are ok, albeit probably very traumatized to see the aftermath of the accident up close. It is shocking to see dead bodies. Seems like the only people who survived were the driver and guide (seatbelts) and those who were thrown clear of the vehicle before it slid down the embankment.

I spent 2 months in Santiago in 2002, and drove the road up to Farallones/Valle Nevado and the other road to Portillo many times (skied 30 days out of 60 on that trip). My friends said they wouldn't wear their seatbelts on the road up to Farallones (40+ curves). The logic being that they could more quickly jump out of the car if it was going off the road. I don't know what it is about that road, but when I drive it, it makes me a very agressive driver, good thing I never met up with Cono Este's dad on the road. Picture a little Toyota yaris (echo) charging up the curves.

[cj001f]

This kinda shit happens in Latin America all the time.

Asia + Africa too. eh, Chile, not that bad. "reasonably" new vehicles, some traffic restrictions, some laws. Paraguay - whole nother world.

[Cono Este]

This was 20 yrs ago for me. Most of the Buses have been cleaned up now. Your right though cj100, Asia is the new madhouse. I imagine India must be insane too.

1985 Nissan Patrol, good times I reccomend it for that road. We had a half gear for the switchbacks. Our was yellow. (Niner sticker on the back)