The controversy is growing in Spain over the conditions for organizing the coach trip during which two people died and 42 were injured, including ten in an absolute emergency.
The Catalan newspaper The Newspaper explains that there is no trace of this round trip to Andorra from L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. Whether “on a website, the trade register or the social network of the travel organizer”. The trip was allegedly organized via a WhatsApp group, shared in particular by the Colombian community in Barcelona.
A trip to benefit from Black Friday in Andorra
The Newspaper explains that the expedition leader was on the bus at the time of the accident and had been planning these kinds of trips for three years. According to her lawyer, cited by the daily, the alleged organizer “would not have received any remuneration” for these trips. According to him, this group is “mainly made up of a group of Colombian friends who organize various activities.” While the organizer “took care of travel, others prepared barbecues or football matches.”
This weekend, the idea was to benefit from the discounts offered in the Principality of Andorra during Black Friday. For reasons of economy, the coach took the national road, which is not prohibited for vehicles over 7.5 tonnes, but which is free, unlike the Puymorens tunnel.
According to France bleu Roussillon which cites several Catalan media, David Quiros, the mayor of Lhospitalet de Llobregat, would have raised a major problem with the company Chavi Tours. “This company hasn’t had a license for years, we’re finding out. It is not approved, the mayor reportedly explained to the Catalan media. These types of trips are usually organized through an intermediary. We are having difficulty contacting Chavi Tours. »
Our file on road accidents
According to the daily The VanguardChavi Tours declared itself insolvent in July, announcing liabilities of more than 200,000 euros and would no longer be able to offer this type of service. Another source of concern is that of customers. The Google reviews from users (who give the company 1.6 stars out of 5) who have traveled on board are cause for alarm. “If you want to take a trip ‘full of surprises’ and you like risk and excitement, don’t hesitate, travel with Chavi,” says one. “Every trip is a new adventure that you don’t know where it will leave you stuck,” says another. Buses that never arrive, a driver “the most aggressive, rude and violent I have ever met!” » The opinions, posted several months before the tragedy, are edifying.
The condition of the bus seems to be corroborated by the testimony, on TF1, of a former firefighter who followed it “completely by chance” during the accident. “There was a big cloud of dust on the left side. I understood that there was a problem with the brakes and that the driver was trying by all means to stop, he explains. He chose the only suitable place to stop permanently. It was a deliberate act on the part of the driver to stop there, otherwise he would tip over. »
