Please read the article naturally but not too fast.
Bystanders inspecting fatal car crash in Guatemala killed by truck on highway
(ABC - Australian Broadcasting Corporation) - A large truck has slammed into a crowd gathered on a road in western Guatemala, killing 18 people and leaving bodies scattered on the roadway, firefighters said.
* Key points:
. The crowd, which included a number of children, had gathered to inspect an earlier fatal car crash
. Between 18 and 32 people are believed to have been killed, with nine more in hospital in critical condition
. Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has offered his condolences and promised “full support to the relatives of the victims”
The semi-trailer struck a group of people who had gone onto a dark highway to inspect another person who had been hit by a car, said local fire department spokesman Cecilio Chacaj.
The number of fatalities has been reported at 18, with at least another nine people admitted to hospitals in a critical condition, Public Health Minister Carlos Soto said on local radio.
Mr Chacaj said confusion during the early response to the accident had initially led his department to incorrectly count the number of casualties.
It has been reported that an eight-year-old girl is among the deceased.
“With the confusion, people initially said 30, even more, dead, but once we cordoned off the area we were able to count the bodies properly,” Mr Chacaj said.
The accident took place in the municipality of Nahuala, west of Guatemala City.
“At this time we are coordinating our response to bring full support to the relatives of the victims,” President Jimmy Morales wrote in a post on Twitter. “My heartfelt condolences.”
A video circulating on social media showed bodies strewn on the roadway while several people cry and shout for help.
The crash is one of the country’s worst traffic accidents in recent years.
In 2013, a bus plunged off a cliff in rural Guatemala, killing at least 43 people and injuring dozens.
Emergency services respond to one of the worst traffic accidents in recent years in Guatemala. (Reuters)
Authorities have been working through a highly graphic and distressing scene on a highway in west Guatemala. (AP: Sandra Sebastian)
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