Overview
- Police say the crash occurred Friday night on federal highway BR‑423 between Paranatama and Saloá, leaving at least 17 dead and about twenty injured.
- Preliminary reconstruction by the Federal Highway Police indicates the driver lost control, crossed into the opposite lane, struck roadside rocks, hit a sand embankment and overturned.
- The driver suffered minor injuries, tested negative for alcohol and reported a brake failure; forensic and criminal inquiries led by PRF and the Pernambuco Civil Police are under way with a 30‑day window for findings.
- Investigators noted indications that some passengers were not wearing seat belts, and officials reported discrepancies between the manifest of 32 names and roughly 40 people on board.
- The bus was headed to Brumado in Bahia with most passengers from that state, bodies are being identified at medico‑legal institutes in Caruaru and Recife, and national and state leaders offered support as BF Turismo dispatched an assistance team.