Head‑On Crash on BR-251 Kills at Least Eight in Northern Minas Gerais

Overview

• A frontal collision between an intercity bus and a heavy truck on BR-251 near Santa Cruz de Salinas on Sunday left at least eight people dead and nine injured after both vehicles caught fire.
• Rescuers reported that flames and twisted wreckage hampered extraction and identification, forcing authorities to move the charred remains from the local IML in Taiobeiras to the better‑equipped IML in Belo Horizonte for forensic exams.
• Police say driver statements differ and a second bus driver listed on passenger records is unaccounted for, so investigators from the Polícia Rodoviária Federal and local Civil Police have opened administrative and criminal inquiries to determine fault.
• Responders and witnesses said the remote crash site had little or no cell signal, which delayed emergency calls and forced passing truckers to use radio or travel for a signal to summon help.
• The BR-251 disaster was one of several deadly highway incidents over the same weekend, highlighting recurring risks on long rural routes such as poor communications, driver error or fatigue, and heavy‑vehicle involvement.