Monitoring Desk
DAKAR: At least 19 people were killed, and dozens of others sustained injuries when a bus swerved when the driver tried to avoid hitting a donkey and collided with a truck near Ngeun Sarr in Senegal Monday, local authorities said.
The collision took place near Ngeun Sarr in Senegal’s north, President Macky Sall tweeted on Monday.
“Yet another deadly accident on our roads,” he tweeted. “My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. Pray for the speedy recovery of the injured people.”
The collision took place between a public bus and a transport truck, said the fire department. The bus driver was apparently trying to avoid hitting a donkey, fire department commander Lieutenant Ousseynou Ndiaye said.
Frequent road accidents in Senegal
Last week, forty people were killed in a bus accident in Gnivy village, in the Kaffrine region of Senegal. After that crash, the government announced reforms aimed at stemming collisions.
Local locals say that traffic crashes happen regularly in Senegal because of poor roads, bad drivers, and cars not adhering to traffic rules.
In 2017, as many as 25 people were killed when two buses collided. Several of those people were heading toward the central town of Touba to participate in the annual Muslim pilgrimage.
