(write-through@15:45CST-Reduces injuries count, adds Rescue Details)
Phoenix, AZ., January 1, 1996 (ENN) -- Two buses collided 13
miles south of the Mexico/Arizona border at approximately
03:30a.m. today. One of the buses reportedly crossed the center
line and careened into oncoming traffic, hitting the other bus
head-on. At least one of the buses is reported to be a tour bus.
The accident was reported to have happened on Highway 2, near
the border town of Sonoita, Mexico. Sonoita is located
approximately 100 miles SW of Phoenix, and near the town of
Lukeville, AZ. The deadly accident reportedly killed at least
23 people and may have injured as many as fifty others. Several
of the dead are believed to be children, according to an Arizona
State police source.
Some dispute continues in regard to actual casualty counts. Mexican authorities in Sonoita had originally reported only 23 people to be injured, but Pima County, Arizona Sheriff's Department personnel said that as many as 100 people may have been hurt. Secondary reports by emergency medical personnel vary between three dozen and the original one hundred. The confusion is reportedly being compounded by the fact that the injured were taken to hospitals on both side of the border and that there was no unified incident command system at the scene.
The extent of injuries are also not immediately known, but it was reported that several people were entrapped and had to be extricated from the demolished buses. Sonoita police officer Rafael Almaraz reportedly told the Associated Press (AP) that half of one bus was completely destroyed. All available air ambulances in the area have been sent to the scene, and several seriously injured people were seen being flown to hospitals in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona. A trauma center in Phoenix says that they have received at least five (5) critical patients with multiple-trauma injuries.
The accident remains under investigation by Mexican police, and the actual cause may not be determined for hours or even days. One thing is certain; the crash is a lethal start to 1996 traffic fatality statistics.
(c) Emergencynet NEWS Service, 1995
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