Six dead and seven injured after vehicle ploughs through Viña del Mar fair in Chile
A car drove through attendees at the Caupolicán fair in Viña del Mar, Chile, leaving six dead and seven injured. The driver, a naval petty officer, was detained.
Six dead and seven injured after vehicle ploughs through Viña del Mar fair in Chile
On Sunday, a car drove through attendees at the Caupolicán fair in Viña del Mar, a coastal city located west of Santiago, Chile. The tragic incident claimed the lives of six people, whilst seven others sustained injuries of varying severity, according to data provided by local police and reported by G4Media.ro based on information from the AFP news agency.
The driver, a military officer of junior rank belonging to the Chilean Navy, was apprehended at the scene. At the time of the incident, he was not performing duties related to his position in the naval force, as the military institution subsequently clarified. The authorities ordered his detention and the carrying out of health checks.
Jorge Guaita, a senior official of the carabineros in the area, explained that the driver would have lost control of his vehicle for reasons still under investigation, striking pedestrians located near the street market. Guaita himself confirmed that, whilst the number of deaths stood at six, none of the injured presented a vital risk.
Various eyewitness accounts collected by uniformed officers indicate that the car was travelling along the street bordering the market at a speed considerably higher than the permitted limit. Photographs taken after the impact show a light-coloured saloon with notable damage to the front windscreen and the upper part of the engine, amid scattered merchandise that appeared to come from the market stalls.
Manuel Millones Chirino, representative of the central government in the Valparaíso region, stated that preliminary reports rule out alcohol intoxication on the part of the detainee. Among the possible causes mentioned is that light rainfall would have caused a loss of grip. Whilst the names of the deceased were not immediately revealed, initial investigations indicate that a large number of them were merchants trading at the market.
The Navy issued a statement lamenting the deaths and announcing its cooperation with investigators to clarify the details of what occurred. For his part, President José Antonio Kast expressed solidarity with the bereaved and guaranteed the mobilisation of all public agencies to assist those affected and clarify criminal responsibilities.
The Viña del Mar municipal authority, a seaside town approximately 120 kilometres from the capital, put legal support and psychological care at the disposal of those involved.
Source: G4Media