Last Sunday, five Argentine tourists and one Mexican citizen lost their lives in a shocking collision between the vehicles they were traveling in, which occurred in the tourist state of Quintana Roo. The collision took place on the road connecting the resort of Tulum with Puerto Aventuras, part of the tourist corridor Riviera Maya-Cancun.

The Argentine tourists, identified as Maximiliano Liviano, Hernán Ezequiel Sibella, Silvia Vanesa Paola Díaz, Gerónimo Amengual, and Nahuel López, were on vacation and had organized a tour to Playa del Carmen. In addition, the driver of the transport vehicle, Fredy Quijano, also lost his life.

#Accidente #PlayadelCarmen Los equipos emergencia, seguridad y protección civil, se encuentran ya en funciones de traslado de la persona que está siendo atendida tras el lamentable accidente automovilístico ocurrido en la carretera federal Puerto Aventuras-Tulum #AccidenteMortal pic.twitter.com/9j5WgkwlCa

— Info Quintana Roo (@InfoQ_Roo) February 18, 2024

Jorge Vázquez Oropeza, secretary of Civil Protection of the municipality of Solidaridad, reported that the accident is attributed to the wet road due to rain and excessive speed. Two more people were seriously injured, Micaela Papiermeister and Yamil Figallo, who were airlifted to the hospital.

The Quintana Roo Attorney General's Office initiated an investigation to clarify the causes of the tragic accident. The State Road Police and the National Guard kept the federal highway Playa del Carmen-Tulum closed for more than four hours to facilitate rescue and body retrieval operations.

The road closure generated significant mobility problems between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, aggravated by adverse weather conditions. Videos captured by witnesses reveal the devastation at the scene of the accident, with the tourists' vehicle compressed on the asphalt and bodies exposed in windows and glass.

Llega el helicóptero de la SSC para trasladar a un herido del mortal accidente ocurrido en Solidaridad, se habla de 6 muertos 🛑👇 pic.twitter.com/AkYKaTtWMr

— Quintana Roo Urbano (@cancunurbano) February 18, 2024

During a press conference, it was reported that the Consul of the Republic of Argentina in Playa del Carmen, Lautaro Filchtinsky, is monitoring the health of the injured to carry out the necessary procedures and notify the relatives. The tourist community and local authorities unite in mourning for this tragic loss of lives.

AMLO mourns the accident

Regarding the accident, the president of the republic, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, during Monday's morning briefing, confirmed the deaths of the tourists and deeply lamented the accident.

"That accident was very ugly, the governor is already attending to that case, it is very regrettable that Argentinians and a Mexican lost their lives in that accident from Tulum to Playa," he mentioned.

Likewise, he mentioned that they are in contact with Argentina to facilitate all the necessary procedures for the repatriation of their bodies.

El presidente @lopezobrador_ lamentó al accidente que se registró en la carretera de #QuintanaRoo, donde perdieron la vida turistas de #Argentina y #México. #ConferenciaPresidente pic.twitter.com/4A5jsVc3qZ

— Imagen Televisión (@ImagenTVMex) February 19, 2024

"We are already attending to it, the Argentine people should know that we are attending to the case of those who lost their lives, seeking to provide all the facilities to the relatives, the governor since yesterday, Mara Lezama, called me to inform me about it."