A bus carrying, farmworkers in central Florida, overturned on Tuesday, after colliding with a pickup truck on a rural road, killing eight people and injuring about 40 others, authorities said.
The bus was transporting 53 farmworkers at about 6.40 a.m. when it collided with a truck in Marion County. Marion is 80 miles north of Orlando, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Authorities say the bus swerved off State Road 40, a straight but somewhat hilly two-lane road that passes through farms.
It crashed through a fence and ended up, on its side, in a field. The workers were being transported to Cannon Farms in Dunellon, harvesting watermelons.
Photos of the scene show the bus lying on its side with its emergency rear door and top hatch open. The truck that hit it shows extensive damage to its driver’s side.
There is no immediate indication that weather was a factor. It is also not immediately known if the bus had seat belts.
“We will close today out of respect to the losses and injuries endured early this morning in the accident. The accident occurred at the Olvera Trucking Harvesting Corp.,” Cannon Farms announced on its Facebook page.
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“Please pray with us for the families and the loved ones involved in this tragic accident. We appreciate your understanding at this difficult time.”
Cannon Farms describes itself as a family-owned commercial farming operation that has farmed its land for over 100 years. It focuses now on peanuts and watermelons, which it sends to grocery stores across the U.S. and Canada.
The company again offered a base rate of $14.77 an hour, with promises of housing and transportation to and from the fields.
The H-2A programme allows U.S. employers or agents, who meet certain regulatory requirements, to bring foreign nationals into the country to fill temporary agricultural jobs.
Florida farms employ more H-2A workers than any other state; about 50,000 a year, according to the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association.
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