Madrid/There are hardly any details about the spectacular traffic accident that left the impressive image of a burning vehicle next to the Pinar del Río highway. The video was recorded and broadcast by José Luis Llanes, a pine tree that is dedicated to the sale of motorcycles and accessories and that at the time of the incident passed through the area.
“Accident on the Pinar del Río highway. Five passengers, four adults and a child, of which three [están] seriously injured. The boy was unharmed. Among those present they took the bass to the hospital, thank God they are alive and I hope the injured are recovered, ”he said In your Facebook account. In the video the vehicle is seen – which allegedly got out of the road and overturned – burning while several people who apparently leave it move away as possible.
The Pinareño was forced to add clarifications after receiving a wave of hundreds of comments reproaching him to have filmed the moment instead of helping passengers or looking for a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. “Note: we call the police and we take the injured by car because we cannot wait for the ambulance. I think it was as we could help, that God helps the injured and they go well,” he added. A user who came out in his defense apostilled: “A pipe stopped and threw water with a hose.”
The official media have not reported information about this sinister in which, for the moment, it is not known how far the seriousness of the injured that Llanes pointed out, but the images do not leave anyone indifferent. The highway between Havana and Pinar del Río is considered a road of great danger, with 74 accidents between January and July 2025, according to data from the National Road Safety Commission.
These are not, however, that the Government has identified as roads in worse state, a doubtful honor that corresponds to the local interests of interest
These are not, however, that the Government has identified as roads in worse state, a doubtful honor that corresponds to the local interest roads, whose maintenance corresponds to the municipalities and that suppose the largest network within the island, with 31,783 kilometers. The data is provided by Sandra Loureiro Rodríguez, general director of the National Road Center of the Ministry of Transportation, which is precisely Interviewed this Wednesday by Cubadebate. The official recognizes the great deterioration suffered by the country’s paths, but taxatively rejects that accidents are due to it.
“The most frequent factors are the lack of attention when driving and the consumption of alcoholic beverages. At the close of the first semester, only 8% of the registered accidents were attributable directly to the technical state of the roads,” says Loureiro in the conversation, which begins by reiterating that only 29% of the Cuban roads are in good condition. The rest is divided by 31% qualified as “regular” and 40%, directly “bad.”
The resources are, as in everything, scarce when not null, but the little that is destined to what the Government has identified as a priority, that is, the roads of national and specific interest. With regard to the former, it is the National Highway and the Central Highway, where “critical sections have been tried. Although not all the expected results have been reached.” These two ways make up the main axis of displacements of the country and through it the most of the economic activity runs.
The second specific block is the one that affects tourism. The official describes the improvements in the pedraplenes of Cayo Santa María – where a bridge is now being repaired – and Cayo Coco, in the blind of Ávila, and Cayo Cruz, in Camagüey. In addition, more size works are expected in the bay tunnel. And it seems that, once again, the rest is thrown in the (less and less) travelers who arrive on the island have the best at their disposal.
“In these roads constant investments are executed to improve their status,” emphasizes the official. Asked for future investments, almost everything is concentrated in that area of the Cayería de Villa Clara, Ciego de Ávila and Camagüey, in addition to Ramón de Antilla, in Holguín. It reserves a “of great importance” quota for the Palma -Barojagua highway, which connects Santiago de Cuba with Holguín, since “through it a good part of the Eastern Provinces economy including the transport of the basic basket and the tourist flow”.
Asphalt concrete almost does not occur due to lack of energy, mixing plants consume a lot of diesel and are, “many”, paralyzed
However, the situation is critical even for these privileged areas and much worse for those that are not. Asphalt concrete almost does not occur due to lack of energy, mixing plants consume a lot of diesel and are, “many”, paralyzed. Nor are aggregates, by the fuel and the situation of the stone mills. As an alternative, it is tried to resort to cold mixtures, very applied, he points out, in Holguín, Camagüey and Sancti Spíritus. It is not the best solution, but it is the most viable, he says.
His department has, as a positive point, the stability of a highly qualified and specialized workforce. The explanation could be in the Precons 3 plan that they are applying and that includes “the possibility of paying salaries to operators and workers up to five times above the basic salary, which allows to retain and motivate the technical staff who works directly in the works.”
The interviewer celebrates the promotion of all the planned improvements, ranging from the announcement of new sustainability and mitigation of the environmental impact to the use of digital systems to monitor the status of the road network, through the planning of roads and separate roads for motorcycles and bicycles and the possibility that citizens alert the local black authorities that have to be repaired.
What is missing are more explanations to how they foresee everything without means, no resources or electricity.
