SCANZANO JONICO (MATERA) - A tragedy with devastating consequences occurred in the early afternoon on the Fondovalle dell'Agri state road in the southern Italian region of Basilicata. Four people were killed and six others injured in a serious collision between a car and a truck in the municipality of Scanzano Jonico.
Overloaded vehicle collides with truck
The accident occurred at around 2:20 p.m. at kilometer 121 of the important connecting road. For reasons as yet unexplained, a Renault Scénic car collided head-on with a truck. The force of the collision was so enormous that four of the car's occupants did not receive any help; they died at the scene of the accident. The six other passengers suffered injuries and were taken to nearby hospitals by the emergency services 118. Two of them are in a very serious condition.
The circumstances of the accident are particularly tragic: all ten occupants of the car were Pakistani nationals. The vehicle was also dramatically overloaded. Although the Renault Scénic is only registered for seven people, there were ten men on board at the time of the accident. A large contingent of firefighters, emergency services and law enforcement officers were deployed. The road management company Anas ordered a temporary closure of the road in both directions to allow rescue and recovery work to take place. Investigations into the exact cause of the accident are ongoing.
