Three relatives of Pope Francis died and a fourth was in critical condition on Tuesday after a car crash on a provincial highway in Argentina, the Vatican and a local police official said.
The small car carrying Emanuel Horacio Bergogolio, 35, a nephew of the pope, along with his wife and two young children, slammed into the back of a truck, said Jorge Raineri, a highway police superintendent. The Guardian reports.
The accident which occurred in the Córdoba area, about 360 miles north-east of Buenos Aires, killed Bergogolio’s wife, Valeria Carmona, and their children. Photographs showed the passenger side of the car smashed and crumpled beneath the cargo truck. [eap_ad_2] Bergoglio, son of the pope’s late brother, Alberto Bergoglio, suffered extensive injuries and was in critical condition in hospital, said Ignacio Bruno, assistant director of the hospital in Villa Maria, speaking to Todo Noticias television.
Carmona, 36, and the two children, José, two years, and Antonio, eight months, died before reaching the hospital, Bruno said.
The accident occurred between the cities of Rosario and Córdoba. The family was reportedly returning to Buenos Aires following a weekend break. The driver of the truck was not injured.
The Reverend Federico Lombardi, spokesman for the Vatican, said: “The pope was informed about the tragic accident. He is deeply pained.” He said the pope asked “all who shared in his grief to unite with him in prayer”.[eap_ad_3]
banker of the day - FREE banker tips from experts