ACCIDENTS. Sometimes, the sums don't add up ... road kill rate rises

Caracas Daily Journal (Jeremy Morgan): Confusion swirls around how many people were killed in the horrendous crash in which a bus swerved into a truck on a highway in Portuguesa in the closing hours of Easter Week on Monday. The initial figure of 13 dead has been swept aside as the figures steadily rise to perhaps as many as 20.

Part of the problem is the severity of the injuries suffered by some of those who were removed from the wreckage while they were still alive. On Tuesday, one of those survivors died at a hospital in Acarigua, taking the official death toll to 19 as of then. Some patients are said to be in highly critical condition.

Across the country as a whole, official totals aren't helping to clarify matters.

Initially, it was said 116 people had been killed on the roads between Friday evening and Monday morning, and officials said this was down from 121 a year before. But then it emerged that the total didn't include the Portuguesa crash. Add them in and the total goes up to 135 – an Easter road death toll worse than last year's.