Two times lucky: Man survives fatal accident that killed 22 people

A man who survived the plane crash that killed most of Brazil’s Chapecoense football team has walked away from a bus crash that claimed the lives of 22 people.
Crew member, Erwin Tumiri was one of just six people to survive the LaMia Flight 2933 on November 28, 2016, near Medellin in Colombia which killed 71 of the 77 people on board including 19 players.

On Wednesday, March 3, it emerged that the 30-year-old had cheated death for a second time after a bus he was travelling in reportedly lost control and careered down a hillside near the Bolivian city of Cochabamba.

Tumiri survived the crash but the death toll from the crash stands at 22 and more than 30 people are said to have been injured.

At least 50 passengers were reportedly travelling on the bus at the time of the incident.

Tumiri’s sister Lucia said her brother was in hospital but had suffered only minor injuries.

‘I was very worried but he’s stable and, thank God, he’s survived once again.

‘He has knee injuries and scratches on his back,’ she added. ‘I’ve spoken to him and he says he’s okay.’

Speaking to local media about his latest escape, Tumiri said: ‘I was feeling a bit sleepy and listening to music on my mobile phone when I heard people screaming.

‘The only thing I could do was hold onto the seat in front of me, broaden my shoulders and lean against the window so I wouldn’t move as the coach overturned.’

Tumiri who spoke from his hospital bed with a bandage over his right knee, added that: ‘I remained conscious throughout and managed to crawl out of the vehicle when it came to a halt.

‘I can’t believe what’s happened. I’ve got injuries to my arm and I can’t lift it up at the moment but I’ve been told I will recover mobility little by little. And I’ve got a gash on my knee, but that’s all.

‘Things happen for a reason, in the good times and the bad,’ he said.

Cristian Rivera Rojas, a traumatologist at the Arebalo Hospital in Cochabamba where Erwin is being treated said that Tumiri will soon be able to go home.

‘There are no bone or ligament injuries. What Erwin has got is a flesh wound in his knee that needed cleaning and stitches,’ Rivera Rojas said.

‘He’s stable, conscious, and calm and he will be able to go home soon.’