Three members of the Chilean Chamber Orchestra remain hospitalized at Carlos Van Buren Hospital in Valparaíso. Two are in serious but stable condition, according to the hospital's update after the bus carrying the ensemble fell down a slope.
La Tercera reported this, citing the hospital's medical director, Simón Rojas. "We received 12 patients from the accident. Of these patients, 5 have already been discharged," the doctor said. Another four were transferred to a workers' compensation health provider in Santiago.
Rojas said that one of the seriously injured patients has bilateral lung contusions and multiple rib fractures. The other underwent surgery overnight for fractures in a leg and a foot. Both are fit to be transferred. The third hospitalized patient is still being assessed for rib fractures and remains clinically stable.
The 62-year-old person whose life was at risk "stabilized overnight," according to the medical director. Rojas explained to G5 Noticias that those being transferred are going to their workers' compensation health providers because the accident occurred in connection with work.
The bus fell about 15 meters down a slope minutes after the orchestra performed in the main auditorium of Federico Santa María Technical University, where it played Gustav Mahler's First Symphony. It came to rest in the parking lot of Condominio Esperanza, where it crushed a car. ADN Radio placed the site in the Diego Portales area, on Barón Hill. G5 Noticias placed it in the lower part of Los Placeres Hill.
According to ADN Radio, the vehicle was carrying 46 members of the ensemble, and emergency crews reported 13 injured, four of them seriously. La Tercera dated the accident to Friday night. ADN Radio placed it on the night of Saturday, October 10.
Violist Penélope Knuth, the orchestra's principal violist, died in the accident. Born in New York, United States, she spent more than three decades of her career in Chile. Minister of Cultures Francisco Undurraga referred to her as a violinist and said she had been part of the ensemble for more than 35 years. "It will be very difficult to replace her," he said.
Undurraga visited the injured at Van Buren. He thanked the region's health services for their care and clarified that the transfers to Santiago were based on where the patients live, rather than concerns about the care they received. He said Knuth's body would be transferred to the capital for her wake.
Orchestra member Marisol Infante questioned the condition of the bus and the driver's maneuver in comments to ADN Radio. She said no one had time to put on a seat belt and that the seats were coming loose. Regional Governor Rodrigo Mundaca described the street as "very narrow and steep."
The minister defended the transport company Yanguas, hired through Public Procurement, and described it as reputable. The Prosecutor's Office is investigating the causes and, according to Undurraga, the driver would face a detention review hearing.
