Senegal declares national mourning after bus crash kills dozens
![Senegal declares national mourning after bus crash kills dozens Senegal declares national mourning after bus crash kills dozens](https://citizentv.obs.af-south-1.myhuaweicloud.com/79287/conversions/A6E4IIO2ZVJ33AHPTPYGDU7EA4-og_image.webp)
Senegal's President Macky Sall attends the ECOWAS summit to discuss transitional roadmap for Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, in Accra, Ghana, July 3, 2022. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko
Thirty eight people died and about 80 were wounded in central
Senegal after two buses collided in the early hours of Sunday, local officials
and President Macky Sall said in statements.
The crash, one of the deadliest
in the West African country's recent memory, was on one of the main east-west
arteries near the town of Kaffrine, about 220 kilometres (137 miles) southeast
of the capital Dakar.
Sall said on Twitter that he
was "profoundly saddened" by the accident and announced three days of
mourning starting on Monday.
The accident occurred after the tyre of one passenger bus burst,
sending it into the path of another bus coming in the opposite direction, a
statement from the area's local prosecutor said.
Footage from the scene shared
online showed two white buses, their mangled fronts entwined. Debris was strewn
across the narrow road.
Road accidents are common in
Senegal, where large trucks and buses, often decades old, overburdened and
listing, hurtle down two-lane highways pitted and rutted by overuse.
In 2017, two buses collided, killing 25 people, including some heading to a religious festival.
Want to send us a story? SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp 0743570000 or Submit on Citizen Digital or email wananchi@royalmedia.co.ke
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a Comment