transportation

Tragedy avoided on smoke-filled bus

MAYDEÉ ROMERO/LA PRENSA

The Mano de Piedra-Corredor bus1098202

A tragedy was narrowly avoided yesterday when a locked emergency door caused a panic among passengers trapped in a smoke-filled bus.

Several people were hospitalized after the incident, but fortunately there were no fatalities.

Police said the bus, on the Mano de Piedra-Corredor route, had an engine problem shortly after passing the Tinajitas toll booth on the Corredor Norte. The bus started to fill with smoke, and passengers panicked when they found that the emergency door at the back of the vehicle was blocked.

The injured were taken to Hospital Santo Tomás. One person suffered a fracture, while another had minor burns. Several people were also hospitalized with high-blood pressure.

Martha Urriola, of the Autoridad de Tránsito y Transporte Terrestre (ATTT), said that the driver could face sanctions based on the outcome of an investigation into the incident.

ATTT Secretary General Miguel Martínez said that the proposed Transmóvil program would address this situation, as well as many other safety issues facing the country's transportation sector. But he said that the agency has not yet taken the initial steps toward purchasing the 420 new buses that will form the base of the system.

According to the official, the buses can't be purchased until repairs to the country's major highways are finished. In addition, only 300 of the 2,500 drivers that will be needed by the new system have been trained.

A spokesman of the group Movimiento 23 de Octubre, David Ramírez, said that the group has been meeting with officials from the ATTT and the Ministerio de Gobierno y Justicia about safety issues in the public transportation system.

A commission is expected to be created sometime this month to investigate cases like the one that took place yesterday, and to establish what items should be carried on buses to prevent the spread of a fire.

The president of the Cámara Nacional de Transporte, Luis Rodríguez, said that many drivers have stopped doing maintenance on their vehicles because of the pending Transmóvil program.

“If possible, the ATTT should more closely monitor buses and remove those that show mechanical problems,” he said.