DAKAR, Senegal
At least 40 people have died and scores were injured when two buses collided near the town of Kaffrine in central Senegal on Sunday, according to the president and the fire services.
In response to the
"grave" accident, President Macky Sall announced three days of
national mourning beginning Monday.
In a tweet Sunday he also said
there had been 40 deaths and "many serious injuries".
"I am deeply saddened by
the tragic road accident," he said on Twitter.
"I extend my heartfelt
condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to the
injured."
The Senegalese prosecutor said
in a separate statement that 38 people had been killed.
Public prosecutor, Cheikh
Dieng, said that early investigations suggested that the accident was caused
when "a bus assigned to the public transport of passengers,
following the bursting of a tyre, left its trajectory before colliding head-on
with another bus coming in the opposite direction."
Colonel Cheikh Fall, who is in
charge of operations for the West African country's National Fire Brigade,
had earlier told AFP that 38 people had died and 87 were injured in the
accident.
The accident took place around
3.15 am local time (0315 GMT) Sunday morning, Fall told AFP, adding that all
the victims have been evacuated to a hospital and medical centre in Kaffrine.
The wreckage and demolished
buses have since been cleared and normal traffic has already resumed on the
road, he said.
The governor and local
officials have already visited the scene, he added.
President Sall said after the
period of national mourning finished, a government council will be held
to "take firm measures on road safety".
Road accidents are common in
Senegal, largely because of driver indiscipline, poor roads and decrepit
vehicles, say experts.
However, this is one of
the heaviest death tolls from a single incident in recent years.
In October 2020, at least 16
people were killed and 15 more injured when a bus collided with a refrigerated
lorry in western Senegal.
The bus, with a 60-seat
capacity, was heading to Rosso near the border with Mauritania, the fire
brigade said, adding that the number of people onboard was unknown.
Local media said at the time
that the truck was hauling fish to Dakar.
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