Kyrgyzstan: Runaway Ice Cream Truck Ploughs into Crowd
In the Kyrgyz village of Zherge-Tal, an ice cream truck careened down a mountainside during a national holiday, ploughing into a crowd of celebrants and injuring 29 children.
The Kyrgyz Ministry of Health reported that 18 children and adolescents remain hospitalised, with seven in intensive care and three in critical condition. All other injured individuals have been discharged.
Local media outlets contend that the truck was driverless at the time of the incident. It is believed that the driver parked the vehicle on an incline and left it unattended. Subsequently, the truck experienced a brake failure and rolled downhill, ultimately colliding with a throng of children gathered for a celebration honouring the Manas epic.
Nurdin Dzheentaev, spokesperson for the Jalal-Abad region's Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), later clarified that a 48-year-old resident of Zherge-Tal had parked his car above the designated performance area for the children.
"The resident was tasked with distributing ice cream to the children during the event," Dzheentaev explained. "Tragically, the vehicle lurched into motion unattended during the performance and struck the crowd. The driver pursued the vehicle but was unable to halt it before the collision."
Authorities have classified the incident as a vehicular accident. According to the latest reports, the truck driver has been apprehended.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
