President Macky Sall has declared a three-day mourning after a bus accident in Kaffrine, central Senegal, on January 8 killed about 40 civilians with scores injured.
On Twitter, President Macky Sall expressed his “deep sadness” at the disaster and declared three days of mourning to begin on Monday.
President Sall announced in a tweet that a government council would be called to “take firm steps on road safety” after the period of national mourning ended.
Images from the scene showed a white bus with its front end severely damaged, along with blood-spattered seats, scattered personal belongings, and a shoe near the crash site.
“In view of this tragedy, the head of state extends his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured,” the government statement said.
Early investigations showed that a public passenger bus experienced a burst tire and veered off track, according to public prosecutor Cheikh Dieng, who made the remark in a press release.
Then, according to him, it collided “head-on with another bus going from the opposite direction.” The casualties were sent to a hospital and medical facility in Kaffrine, Colonel Cheikh Fall, who oversees operations for the National Fire Brigade, said reporters.
The fatal disaster, one of the worst in recent memory for the West African nation, occurred close to the town of Kaffrine, roughly 220 kilometres southeast of Dakar, on a major east-west highway.
Senegal has a high rate of traffic accidents because the country’s two-lane highways are frequently overused, resulting in big, often decades-old, overloaded, and listing vehicles and buses.