Sarapiquí Bus Crash Toll Rises to Three as Bus Lacked Excursion Permit

A third woman has died following Wednesday’s bus rollover in Sarapiquí, and transport regulators say the vehicle was authorized only to carry students, not the excursion group of older adults it was transporting when it left the road. The Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) confirmed Wednesday afternoon that a 69-year-old woman surnamed Castro died of complications at Hospital de Guápiles. She had been injured in the crash on National Route 4 in La Chiripa de Río Frío, Horquetas de Sarapiquí. The OIJ identified the other two victims as Isabel Brenes Mora, 62, who was trapped inside the bus and died at the scene, and a 70-year-old Nicaraguan woman surnamed Ruiz, who died while being taken by ambulance to the same hospital. The 54 passengers were older adults from Jiménez, Suerre and other communities in Pococí, Limón, on a trip to the hot springs in La Fortuna de San Carlos. The bus overturned onto its side around 7:55 a.m., about 400 meters (1,312 feet) from the Palmitour restaurant. The Public Transport Council (CTP) said the bus, belongs to Transportes Transpal of Guápiles. According to the council, the company holds a valid operating permit for student transportation only, and the bus was not authorized to provide excursion service. The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) said the vehicle’s technical inspection with Dekra was current, its policy with the National Insurance Institute (INS) was active and the bus was within its permitted service life. Public Works and Transport Minister Efraím Zeledón Leiva ordered an investigation into the conditions under which the bus was operating. The CTP has opened its own administrative inquiry into the company and said its findings will go to the council’s board of directors as soon as possible. MOPT and the CTP said in a joint statement that sanctions will be applied if irregularities are confirmed. No penalties have been announced. Authorities have not established what caused the bus to leave the road. Survivors interviewed by local media described the bus overturning suddenly, and one witness said the driver was trying to avoid an object on the roadway. Investigators have not confirmed those accounts. The Costa Rican Red Cross said it attended to 54 people at the scene, classifying seven as critical and 32 as urgent, while 13 did not need hospital transfer. Patients were taken to hospitals in Guápiles, San Carlos and Heredia and to clinics in Río Frío and Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí. The condition of the driver has not been publicly reported. The OIJ continues to investigate the circumstances of the crash, while the CTP review will determine whether the company faces administrative penalties for operating the trip without the required authorization.