medical expenses after 46 Evangelical Christians, including children, were killed on their way to a baptism service when their bus plunged into a 100-meter (328-foot) deep ravine near the town of Carolina, El Salvador.
Many others were injured in last week’s crash which was blamed on inadequate brakes, said officials of Springfield based Latin America ChildCare (LACC), an evangelical ministry arm of Assemblies of God World Missions in Latin America, which claims to represent the largest integrated network of evangelical schools in the region and the Caribbean.
Among those killed were Pastor Jose Antonio Aviles, his wife and three children as well as the LACC school director and his family, said the news agency of the Assemblies of God, a large Pentecostal denomination which had rented the bus.
Mario Gomez, a church member and the bus driver, and his 17-year-old daughter also died, the Assemblies of God News Service reported. In addition "one church family lost 17 members. Angel Sarmiento, an 8th grade LACC student, lost his parents, four siblings and a grandfather. Three LACC students were killed immediately. Nine other students are hospitalized in critical condition in area hospitals. Other LACC children lost parents or family members," the news service said.
HUMAN SUFFERING
The crash reportedly occurred Saturday, August 14, on a two-lane highway near Carolina, some 167 kilometers (104 miles) from the capital San Salvador, however the extend of the human suffering only began to emerge a week later. Moises Garay, a spokesman for local fire authorities, told The Associated Press news agency that the "mountainous zone" is "very dangerous because of the cliffs."
In a statement, LACC Director Ken Dahlager said a fund has been set up "to assist with burial expenses and medical care" for victims and their relatives in the impoverished Latin American nation. "Those interested in contributing can contact the LACC office at: 1-800-289-7071 or direct their giving through AGWM, El Salvador Field Account #890895-6 (46) for disaster relief," he said.
LACC was founded in El Salvador in 1963 as a means of fighting poverty. More than 500,000 students have passed through the doors of the LACC schools in El Salvador during the past 41 years, the organization said. Over 80,000 students are said to attend the 300 LACC schools in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Those who died included students and staff members of a school in the region of Guatijiagua, which was the newest LACC learning institution.
