The carcasses of buses collided in Kaffrine, Senegal on Sunday January 8, 2023. CHEIKH DIENG / AFP
It is the country’s deadliest accident in recent years. In Senegal, President Macky Sall has just ordered three days of national mourning following a collision between two buses on the night of Saturday 7th to Sunday 8th January which left forty dead and dozens injured.
According to the National Fire Service, the accident happened on Sunday at 3.15 a.m. local time (4.15 a.m. Paris) near the town of Kaffrine, about 250 kilometers south-east of the capital Dakar. The head-on collision left “thirty-six seriously injured and forty-nine slightly injured,” according to a new preliminary government report.
The head of state, who is expected to be there in the afternoon like the prime minister and several members of the government, said he was “deeply saddened by the tragic traffic accident”. The three-day national mourning is scheduled to begin on Monday. An interministerial council will be held on Monday to “take strict measures on road safety and public transport,” said the head of state.
A tire burst at the origin of the tragedy
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“According to the initial findings of the investigation (…) a bus used for public transport left its lane after a tire burst before colliding head-on with another oncoming bus,” said the Kaolack public prosecutor. According to the fire department, the victims were transported to the Kaffrine hospital, the bodies of the buses were cleared and the road was reopened to traffic.
The main Senegalese opponent, Ousmane Sonko, candidate for the 2024 presidential election, announced on Twitter that he was postponing a fundraiser because of the accident and called on the authorities to give “priority attention” to road safety and its human, social and economic consequences for the country”.
Frequent accidents
Bus accidents are common in Africa, due to the poor maintenance of the vehicles, the poor condition of the roads, but also to driving errors, since many drivers are holders of permits bought by corrupt inspectors without ever having attended a driving school.
A bus accident on the border between Kenya and Uganda killed 21 people in East Africa on Saturday evening, the Ugandan police said on Sunday. Thirteen people are of Kenyan origin and eight are of Ugandan origin among those killed in the accident. According to the police, 49 people were injured. According to the initial findings of the investigation, the driver lost control of the vehicle due to excessive speed.
The Ugandan government is preparing new measures to improve road safety after a spike in deaths during the holiday season. According to Ugandan police, in just three days, from December 30 to January 1, 104 road accidents were recorded, leaving 35 dead and 114 injured.
Last week, at least fourteen people were killed and seventy-three injured in a collision between two buses in Yamoussoukro, in central Ivory Coast. A collision between two vehicles in northern Nigeria has killed 18 people.