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BOLIVIA-ACCIDENT
Deadly time as Carnival gets under way in Bolivia
LA PAZ, Feb 12, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Tragedies cast a shadow over Bolivia’s
carnival celebrations this weekend, with a staggering 21 people killed and 72
injured, authorities said Sunday.
In the city of Oruro, famous for its carnival celebrations, a heating gas
tank exploded and killed eight people and wounded another 47.
Many of the others killed were in traffic and bus accidents, police and
local officials said.
In Oruro, about 25,000 dancers take part in the pre-Lenten blowout that is
Bolivia’s biggest tourist attraction and brings as many as half a million
people to the sleepy town.
The pageant along the city’s cobblestones is a mixture of Spanish colonial
traditions with those of the ancient indigenous Inca and Aymara peoples in a
ritual seeking better farming and good health.
In 2001, the UNESCO cultural organization declared the carnival an
intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0830 hrs