Four people dead this Thursday when the car crashed and caught fire. They were traveling near a lithium plant in the state Uyuni salt flatsThe Bolivian Police reported that it is the largest elemental reserve in Bolivia and one of the main tourist attractions in the country.
The incident occurred in the morning when the driver of a minibus crashed near the Bolivian Lithium Deposits (YLB) plant in the town of Llipi in the Andean region of Potosí. Losing control of the vehicle due to excessive speed, Alexander Vargas, commander of the Border Police in the town of Uyuni, announced to the media. Vehicle It overturned, hit the firewall and then caught fire The occupants couldn’t get out, Vargas said. “As a result of this traffic accident, four people died, including the driver and three people in the vehicle,” the police chief added.
Police, along with the prosecutor and forensic doctor, went to the scene to legally remove the bodies and take samples to determine whether the driver had consumed alcohol or other substances.
Juan Carlos Oblitas, deputy section commander of the Potosí Police, stated that all four people who died, two men and two women, were Bolivian citizens. Oblitas also stated that the incident was brought to the attention of the Public Ministry “to see if another investigation is necessary.”
Vargas said that according to preliminary information, it was known that the occupants of the vehicle “went for a walk in the Uyuni salt flats” and were returning to the city of the same name when the accident occurred. Vargas recommended that drivers transporting people to the salt flats “be more careful” by taking the following into consideration: There is more influx of tourists this season and it is also the rainy season.. The police chief stated that they had already dealt with a large number of vehicles placed in the salt desert due to rains, and insisted that they “be careful when entering the salt flat”.
Uyuni salt flat, an ancient, dried seafloor measuring over 10,000 square kilometers one of the main tourist destinations Bolivians are home to one of the world’s largest lithium reserves. This salt desert is located in Potosí, a border region with Chile and Argentina.
Accidents on Bolivian roads cause about 1,400 deaths and nearly 40,000 injuries every year and are mostly caused by preventable human errors, according to official data.