SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — An off-duty member of the Chilean navy driving a private vehicle crashed into an open-air market in the coastal city of Vina del Mar Sunday, killing several people, the navy said in a statement.
Footage circulating on social media from a residential security camera appears to capture the moment the car plunges into the stalls, while other videos show the driver being rushed to a nearby police car, as angry bystanders run after
him shouting.
“The accident resulted in the deaths of several people and left others with injuries of varying severity,” the navy said, adding that it was cooperating with authorities to establish the circumstances surrounding the crash.
The navy statement did not provide an exact number of fatalities, but local media reported at least six deaths.
Officials at Gustavo Fricke Hospital said five injured people — including two babies — were admitted with various traumatic injuries that were not in life-threatening. Police, firefighters and paramedics treated numerous people at the scene. Two other injured people were discharged.
“At this stage of the evaluation, they are stable and out of life-threatening danger, but of course they are still awaiting the completion of all the examinations required in these cases,” Denise Cataldo, the hospital’s deputy director, said.
The off-duty member of the navy - the only person detained in connection with the incident - tested negative in a breathalyzer test, Interior Undersecretary Máximo Pavez said.
Col. Jorge Guaita, police prefect for Vina del Mar, told reporters the driver says he doesn’t remember anything and that the cause for the incident is yet to be determined.
“Witness statements from people who saw the crash indicate that the vehicle was traveling in the correct direction of traffic, at high speed,” Guaita said, adding that when the vehicle mounted the sidewalk, it spun around.
“Fortunately, the bus stop brought it to a halt. Otherwise, it might have continued forward and caused even more damage,” Guaita added.
Witnesses told local media the driver may have lost control of the vehicle after a collision.
Chilean President José Antonio Kast said on X that the incident had plunged “the entire country in mourning.”
“All state institutions are working to assist those affected and to establish with complete clarity the responsibilities for this painful event,” Kast said.
The Caupolican market is held every Thursday and Sunday in the upper part of Vina del Mar. It comprises more than 1,000 stalls, in addition to informal vendors in the surrounding area, and is typically visited by large crowds.
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