2024-01-05 04:13:27
Four people died this Thursday when the vehicle crashed and caught fire in which they were traveling near a state lithium plant in the Uyuni salt flatthe largest reserve of the element in Bolivia and one of the main tourist attractions in the country, reported the Bolivian Police.
The event occurred in the morning near the Bolivian Lithium Deposits (YLB) plant in the town of Llipi, in the Andean region of Potosí, when the driver of a van lost control of the vehicle due to apparent speeding, the commander of the Border Police in the town of Uyuni, Alexander Vargas, explained to the media. The vehicle It overturned, crashed into a security wall and then caught fire without its occupants being able to get out, Vargas said. “As a result of this traffic incident we have four dead people, the driver and three occupants,” added the police chief.
The Police went to the scene along with a prosecutor and a forensic doctor to legally remove the bodies and samples were also taken to determine if the driver consumed alcoholic beverages “or other types of substances.”
For his part, the departmental deputy commander of the Potosí Police, Juan Carlos Oblitas, stated that the four deceased, two men and two women, were all of Bolivian nationality. Oblitas also indicated that the event was brought to the attention of the Public Ministry “to see if any other investigation is necessary.”
According to preliminary information, it is known that the occupants of the vehicle “went for a walk in the Uyuni salt flat” and that they were returning to the city of the same name when the accident occurred, Vargas said. Vargas recommended that drivers who transport people to the salt flat “be more cautious” taking into account that In this season there is a greater influx of tourists and it is also the rainy season. The police chief maintained that due to the rains, they have already attended to several cases of vehicles that were planted in the salt desert, and insisted that “they use caution when entering the salt flat.”
The Uyuni salt flat, the bottom of an ancient desiccated sea of more than 10,000 square kilometers, is one of the main tourist destinations Bolivians and is home to one of the world’s largest lithium reserves. This salt desert is located in Potosí, a border region with Chile and Argentina.
Accidents on Bolivian roads cause around 1,400 deaths and around 40,000 injuries each year, and are mainly due to human errors that can be prevented, according to official data.
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