At least 40 people died this Sunday and 78 others were wounds from the collision of two buses in Senegal, according to the authorities. After the tragedy, three days of national mourning were decreed.
The accident, the most serious in recent years, occurred in the early hours of Sunday, at 3.15am local time. It happened on National Highway 1, near the town of Kaffrine, approx 250 kilometers from Dakarthe capital, according to a statement from the fire brigade and the public prosecutor’s office.
“According to the first elements of the judicial police investigation, a group involved in public passenger transport blew a tire, got out of the way and collided at high speed head-on with another bus coming from the opposite direction“, explained the Prosecutor’s Office in a statement.
After the serious incident, the Senegalese president, Macky Sall, decreed “a three days of national mourning from January 9″.
“An inter-ministerial council will be held on the same date to adopt stringent measures on road safety and public passenger transport,” Sall added on his Twitter social network account.
The tire burst on a bus from Tambacounda (south) bound for Dakar, while the other damaged vehicle came from the capital and was bound for Vélingara (south).
According to various local media reports, the injured were transferred to Kaffrine hospital. While the remains of the buses were removed from the site and hours later, the highway was operating normally.
Bus accidents are frequent in Africa, mainly due to poorly maintained buses and poor road conditions, but also due to driving errors, since many motorists drive without a licence.
With information from EFE
Source: Clarin
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.