Senegal mourns dozens killed in bush crash

Thirty-nine folks have been killed and greater than 100 others injured when two buses crashed in a head-on collision in a single day on an arterial highway in Senegal’s central Kaffrine area, President Macky Sall advised reporters Sunday.

Photographs of the incident confirmed the utterly mangled entrance finish of a white bus, with blood-flecked seats, private gadgets and a shoe strewn across the tree-lined crash web site.

Highway accidents are frequent in Senegal, largely due to driver error, poor roads and decrepit autos, say specialists, however the newest catastrophe has induced one of many heaviest losses of life from a single incident lately.

Chatting with reporters, Sall corrected an earlier authorities assertion that had put the loss of life toll at 40, citing a miscount on the morgue.

He made the feedback after visiting the crash web site, on the No. 1 nationwide freeway simply exterior of the village of Sikilo, and talking with a few of the injured on the regional hospital within the close by city of Kaffrine.

“We notice with nice ache and unhappiness the loss of life of 39 folks on this visitors accident close to Kaffrine”, Sall mentioned.

“We have now misplaced many younger folks on this accident and tomorrow the Prime Minister will convene an interministerial council that may contain the world of transport — transporters, drivers, insurers, safety providers — to have a look at the measures to be taken”, he added.

The federal government has introduced three days of nationwide mourning starting Monday, with flags to be flown at half-mast all through the nation.

Kaffrine mayor Abdoulaye Saydou Sow, who can be the Minister of Urbanism, mentioned in a press release that the accident occurred between 2:00 and three:00 am (GMT and native) Sunday and was attributable to a burst tyre.

He mentioned the Kaffrine morgue was “saturated” and that our bodies have been being despatched to a different morgue in Kaolack, a metropolis 40 miles (65 km) away.

Public prosecutor, Cheikh Dieng, had beforehand mentioned in a press release that early investigations prompt a public passenger bus suffered a burst tyre and swerved off track.

It then crashed “head-on with one other bus coming in the other way”, he mentioned.

‘Tragic’

Sow mentioned he and several other different ministers had visited the injured in Kaffrine and Kaolack on Sunday.

The delegation included the Minister of Land Transport, Mansour Faye, Well being Minister Marie Kermesse Ngom, and Minister of Territorial Fairness and Nationwide Solidarity, Samba Ndiobene Ka, he mentioned.

The president of the Nationwide Meeting, Amadou Mame Diop, mentioned in a press release that he “and all of the Members of Parliament share the grief of all the Senegalese folks” and recommended “the speedy response of the emergency providers”.

Opposition politician Ousmane Sonko introduced on Twitter that he would postpone a scheduled fundraising program in gentle of the accident.

“We bow earlier than the reminiscence of the deceased, supply our very honest condolences to their grieving family members and to all Senegalese and pray for the merciful remainder of their souls in addition to a speedy restoration for the injured”, he mentioned.

France’s Minister of Overseas Affairs on Sunday conveyed her condolences to her Senegalese counterpart, the French ministry mentioned in a press release.

In October 2020, at the very least 16 folks have been killed and 15 extra injured when a bus collided with a refrigerated lorry in western Senegal.

Native media mentioned on the time that the truck was hauling fish to Dakar.