At least 18 dead after being hit by a truck in Guatemala

Guatemala is in mourning after the death of at least 18 aboriginal Wednesday evening after being hit by a heavy transport trailer that had fled, borrowing a village in a village in the west of the country. Authorities initially announced 30 deaths.

The tragedy was recorded in the income of NahualaQuiché, about 160 km west of the capital, has about 65,000 inhabitants, about 160 km west of the capital, after the traffic was congested, because a neighbor had been fatally crushed by another driver who had also fled.

"In the first case, a person who had been crushed by an unknown vehicle dies and before that, neighbors gathered on the side where the deceased was on the asphalt belt, but unfortunately, the group of neighbors is hit by a heavy transport vehicleCecilio Chacaj, spokesperson for this humanitarian organization, told reporters.

Chilling pictures of local television they show several victims lying on the asphalt with their multicolored costumes, many mutilated.

Dozens of parents cry and beg helplessly at the bodies piled up on the road. Up to now, it is not known how many men, women and children are among the victims.

President Jimmy Morales lamented in his Twitter account the incident and said that his government is "coordination actions to provide full support to the families of the victims. My condolences"

"I deeply regret the tragedy that occurred in the municipality of Nahualá, Sololá, which caused more than 30 deaths (later, as authorities have indicated, the figure fell) because of an accident of the road, "he said.

The government announced in a statement that on Thursday it will be declared national duel for three days "in memory of the deceased" in the accident.

The spokesman for the fire department said that until now, it is unclear where the caravan and its driver are.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for the police, Pablo CastilloHe told reporters that agents of the institution had begun to capture the person responsible for the tragedy, which, because of the death toll, is unprecedented in this Central American country.

Castillo said the investigators had trouble opening the investigations because the residents and families of the victims refused them entry, so they engaged a dialogue with community leaders to get information.

Local media reports that the victim of the first beating was a community leader and president of the state Community Council for Urban and Rural Development (Cocode), which belongs to the National System of Development Councils of Guatemala, but no authority has confirmed it.

Previously, the crowd at the spot where this native ruler had been crushed was immense.

According to the local press, the truck would have left without lighting, which prevented the driver from noticing the people who had gathered there. This, coupled with the fact that the accident was recorded at night in an area where street lighting was off on the way could have facilitated the escape of the heavy vehicle.

With information from AFP and EFE