By Alfredo Di Cesare
Sep 25, 2024, 11:46 AM EDT
A tragedy has shocked Venezuela. A bus carrying a children’s soccer team overturned on Tuesday night, leaving five dead and eight injured.
The bus was carrying children from the Real Barcelona team from Anzoátegui (a town in the northeast of the country) who were preparing to play in a tournament called Jardín de Oriente. The bus overturned and ended up falling into the void down a ravine.
The accident occurred on a curve known as ‘La Campana de Caripe’ in the north of Monagas state. Initial hypotheses suggest a mechanical failure in the vehicle. However, investigations are still underway to determine whether it was due to this, a third person or the driver’s incompetence.
The injured were taken to the Dr. Manuel Núñez Tóvar University Hospital in the city of Maturín. The list of deceased is as follows.
Alfredo de la Cruz Merodi, 38 years old, Alfredo Alejandro Merdodi, 15 years old, Luciano Alfredo Merdodi Leonett, 5 years old, Jhassikocv Gil, 5 years old, and Geidi Gil, age unknown.
Team statement
Hours after the accident, Anzoátegui Football Club issued a statement regretting what happened and suspending all sporting activities of the institution. They also confirmed that two of the deceased were the wife and son of a former coach of the team.
“We at Anzoátegui Football Club regret the incident that occurred on Tuesday, September 24, when the delegation from the Real Barcelona School of Anzoátegui State suffered a terrible accident in the city of Caripe, on their way back to Puerto La Cruz after a minor football competition,” they said.
“The Organization, its Board of Directors, Management, Technical Staff, Players and all the staff that works in our team regret the death of Jhassikocv Gil and Geidi Gil, who in life were the Son and Wife of our trainer in the training categories Víctor Bucarito,” they added.
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