Two fatalities (one at the scene and another at hospital) and 27 injured (including one minor) constitute the preliminary toll from a major traffic accident that occurred in the early hours of today at kilometer 727 on the Bayamo-Tunas highway in Granma province.

Following activation of emergency medical services, the victims were transferred to Bayamo’s Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Provincial Hospital, reported Cubadebate.

Specialised care conditions for the injured are guaranteed, with medical personnel and necessary resources available, according to Dr. Adonis Frómeta Guerra, General Director of the C.M. de Céspedes Hospital.

Frómeta Guerra further specified that six of the injured are undergoing surgical procedures.

Granma’s First Party Secretary Yudelkis Ortiz Barceló and Governor Yanetsy Terry Gutiérrez immediately attended the scene and monitored the victims’ treatment and condition.

The incident occurred when the driver of a rented bus belonging to Biocufarma’s National Scientific Research Center, operating the Havana-Santiago de Cuba route, lost control and collided with a fixed obstacle.

Joint forces from the Ministry of Interior are investigating the causes of this tragic accident.

The deceased victims are Aracelis Torres Almarales, aged 60, and Ismael Gómez de la Masa Areces, aged 51.