墨西哥交通事故,至少21人死亡

A semi-truck and a bus carrying passengers back from a pilgrimage to a Catholic shrine crashed and burst into flames Wednesday in eastern Mexico, killing at least 21 people, officials said.

墨西哥政府部門表示，星期三(5月29日)在墨西哥東部，一輛半卡車和一輛公共汽車相撞墜毀并起火，造成至少21人死亡。

Thirty others were injured.

另有30人受傷。

Most of the victims were pilgrims from the southern state of Chiapas who were on their way back from a trip to Mexico City to pray at the basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the country's patron saint, said the head of the Civil Protection service for the state of Veracruz, Guadalupe Osorno.

瓜達盧佩-奧索爾諾-維拉克魯斯州民防部負責人表示，大多數(shù)受害者是來自恰帕斯州南部的朝圣者，他們從墨西哥城回來，正要前往瓜達盧佩的圣母教堂祈禱。

"The forensic experts at the scene report 17 bodies of passengers who were traveling in the bus, plus two people who died in the semi truck," she said.

她說:“現(xiàn)場的法醫(yī)報告顯示，車上有17具尸體，還有2人死于半卡車。”

"One person was dead on arrival at the hospital, and another who was in serious condition died."

“有一人在抵達醫(yī)院時死亡，另一人因傷勢過重而死。”

The Catholic Archdiocese of Tuxtla Gutierrez, in Chiapas, sent its condolences to the victims' loved ones in a statement.

位于恰帕斯的塔克斯特拉古鐵雷斯天主教總教區(qū)在一份聲明中向遇難者家屬表示慰問。

"We deeply regret the deaths caused by this accident and share in their families' overwhelming pain," it said.

“我們對這次事故造成的死亡深表遺憾，并與他們的家人一起承受巨大的痛苦。”

The accident occurred on a highway in a region known as the Maltrata hills, where the roads wind between peaks that rise more than 2,000 meters above sea level.

事故發(fā)生在馬爾特拉塔山區(qū)的一條高速公路上，該地區(qū)的公路在海拔2000多米的山峰之間蜿蜒曲折。

Emergency officials at the scene said one of the vehicles lost its breaks going downhill and crashed into the other, causing both to erupt in flames and leaving the bus a charred and mangled frame.

現(xiàn)場的緊急救援人員說，其中一輛車在下坡時剎車失靈，撞上了另一輛車，兩輛車都起火燃燒，車身被燒焦，車架被撞得支離破碎。

In 2006, more than 50 Evangelical Christians were killed in the same region when their bus plunged into a ravine. Authorities said that accident was also caused by faulty brakes.

2006年，50多名福音派基督徒乘坐的巴士在同一地區(qū)墜入峽谷，全部喪生。有關部門表示，事故也是由于剎車失靈造成的。