13 killed, dozens injured in ICoast road accident

Thirteen people has killed and 45 injured in a road accident in northern Ivory Coast, after a tanker truck crashed into a bus, rescuers and local media said Saturday.

A bus carrying passengers and a petrol-filled truck on the opposite lane collided on Friday where the road’s width had been narrowed by a freight truck parked without indicators, said Police Secours, a platform monitoring deadly accidents in the country.

The vehicles crashed around 2300 GMT on the highway between Bouake and Korhogo, two large cities in northern Ivory Coast.

“The collision between the bus and the tanker set off a fire of terrifying intensity,” leaving “13 bodies charred” by the flames, Police Secours wrote.

The Ivorian Press Agency (AIP) confirmed the toll which included 19 injured children rushed to hospitals in the nearby cities of Katiola and Niakara.

Deadly accidents are frequent in the Ivory Coast due to many roads and cars in poor condition and reckless driving.

The country in 2023 introduced a point-based driver’s licence granting each driver a total of 12 points that can be gradually taken away depending on the violation.

Ivorian authorities have also set up cameras on the country’s main roads to fine offenders.

Between 1,000 and 1,500 people are killed every year in road accidents in the Ivory Coast, according to the transport ministry. (BSS/AFP)