Senegal declares national mourning after 40 killed in bus collision

Crash occurred on one of the main east-west arteries near the town of Kaffrine

Incident occurred after the tyre of one passenger bus burst, sending it into the path of another bus. Photograph: Cheikh Dieng/AFP via Getty Images
Incident occurred after the tyre of one passenger bus burst, sending it into the path of another bus. Photograph: Cheikh Dieng/AFP via Getty Images

Thirty-eight people died and about 80 were wounded in central Senegal after two buses collided in the early hours of Sunday, local officials and president Macky Sall said in statements.

The crash, one of the deadliest in the West African country’s recent memory, was on one of the main east-west arteries near the town of Kaffrine, about 220km southeast of the capital Dakar.

Mr Sall said on Twitter that he was “profoundly saddened” by the incident and announced three days of mourning starting on Monday.

The incident occurred after the tyre of one passenger bus burst, sending it into the path of another bus coming in the opposite direction, a statement from the area’s local prosecutor said.

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Footage from the scene shared online showed two white buses, their mangled fronts entwined. Debris was strewn across the narrow road. – Reuters