Transantiago bus set on fire after the driver was threatened with a home-made shotgun

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SANTIAGO.- A Transantiago connection bus making its route in the municipality of Estación Central was completely burned at approximately 5:30 AM this morning after three individuals wielding a home-made shotgun doused the bus with gasoline and set it on fire.

Gabriel Serrano, the driver of the vehicle, said that the attack occurred after the suspects boarded the bus and ordered him and the other passengers to get off. The perpetrators told the driver that the aggression was not directed at him, but at the transportation system.

According the Serrano's version, one of the individuals was wearing a hood.

The owner of the bus, Ernest Sarmiento, declared that the vehicle was "completely destroyed". He anticipates damages reaching 100 million pesos when taking interest into account since the bus had been bought on credit for a market price of 62 million pesos.

Sarmiento also stated that he did not know whether or not the vehicle had been insured by Nuevo Milenio, the company it was being operated by.