Three days of national mourning as two buses collide in Senegal, killing 39

Thirty-nine people were killed and about 100 injured after two buses collided in Senegal, prompting President Macky Sall to declare three days of national mourning and immediate measures to improve security.

The accident, the worst in recent years in the West African country, happened between Saturday and Sunday night at 0300 local time (0300 GMT) near the town of Kafrin, about 250 km southeast of the capital Dakar. Firefighters and local authorities.

The government announced the final assessment of the accident on Sunday evening, which showed that 39 people died in the Siquilo region, 53 were injured and hospitalized and 42 were less injured and treated at local health centers.

“The 2 buses were carrying 139 passengers at the time of the accident,” the government said in a statement.

Ten of the wounded are in a “critical emergency,” President Sall said after visiting the bedside of the wounded at Kafrin Hospital in the company of Prime Minister Amadou Bah.

“More than 20 bodies have already been identified and will be handed over to their families soon,” he added.

The head of state, who had earlier decided on “three days of national mourning from Monday”, promised swift action to prevent a repeat of such a new “tragedy”.

“We cannot expose the lives of our compatriots to a transportation system that disregards respect for human life,” said Mr. Sal said.

The prime minister will convene an interagency committee from Monday to take steps related to condition of vehicles, technical inspection, issuance of driver’s license or traffic schedules, he said.

“We as a state are definitely ready to support the transport sector to age limit and renew the fleet of public transport vehicles coming to us from abroad”, he assured that necessary steps would be “taken”. Tomorrow”.

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Kafrin Mayor Abdullahi Saidu Chou, who is also the Minister of Urban Planning and Housing, and the public prosecutor of the neighboring town of Kayolak attributed the accident to the burst tire of two buses that ran away from each other. its path.

Senegal’s arch-rival Ousmane Sonko, a candidate for the 2024 presidential election, has called on authorities to “pay major attention” to road insecurity, saying on Twitter he was postponing a fund-raising event because of the accident. Social and Economic Effects of the Country”.

Bus accidents in Africa are frequent due to poor maintenance of vehicles, bad roads, but also driver errors, many drivers have not attended driving school and have permits bought from corrupt inspectors.

At least 21 people were killed in a bus accident on Saturday evening in East Africa along the Kenya-Uganda border, Ugandan police said on Sunday. Most of the dead were Kenyans but there were also eight Ugandans. Police said 49 people were injured.

According to the first elements of the investigation, the driver may have lost control of the vehicle due to excessive speed.

The Ugandan government is preparing new measures to improve road safety as fatalities rise during the holiday season. According to the Uganda Police, 104 road accidents were recorded in the three days from December 30 to January 1, in which 35 people died and 114 were injured.