A bus carrying Moroccan seasonal workers overturned early on Monday morning in Andalusia, killing one person and injuring 39 others, three of them seriously, the emergency services said.
The accident happened just before sunrise on international workers day on a road some 50 kilometres from the southwestern Andalusian city of Huelva, the 112 emergency services said. The bus reportedly overturned on the A-484 road as it passed through the municipality of Almonte. It was carrying temporary workers from the town of San Juan del Puerto.
‘The number of people injured when the bus overturned has risen to 39,’ the emergency services said on the regional government’s website, saying the bus had been carrying Moroccan seasonal workers.
‘One woman died, another three people were very seriously hurt, 14 sustained moderate injuries and 22 were lightly injured,’ it said, saying the driver had been lightly hurt in the accident.
They had earlier said seven people were very seriously hurt and 18 had sustained light injuries.
It was not immediately clear what caused the accident in an area known for its vast agriculture industry, with the Andalusia region Europe’s top exporter of fruits and vegetables.
In a separate statement, medics with the CES emergency services said ’34 workers were travelling on the bus; one of them died in the accident, seven others were seriously hurt and 18 others were slightly injured’.
In remarks ahead of May Day marches, Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz offered her ‘condolences and deepest sympathy to the workers caught up in this very serious accident’.
Spain traditionally relies on thousands of seasonal workers from abroad to pick fruits, with the Huelva province producing 300,000 tonnes of strawberries a year, the vast majority of Spain’s output.
🔴 Ascienden a 39 los heridos en el vuelco de autobús en #Almonte en el que ha fallecido una trabajadora
— Emergencias 112 (@E112Andalucia) May 1, 2023
El accidente se ha producido en la carretera A-484. Más información y podcast en este enlace ⬇https://t.co/snsx4O64eL
📷 @fermincaba pic.twitter.com/AIzdTzsO1F
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