Tanker Truck Crashes into Bus in Ivory Coast Killing 13 and Injuring 44

By TOUSSAINT N’GOTTA

6:18 PM EDT, September 7, 2024

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — A tanker truck crashed into a bus in northern Ivory Coast, killing 13 people and injuring 44, the Transportation Ministry and local media said Saturday.

The bus and the truck crashed Friday night on the highway between Bouake and Korhogo, two large cities in the country’s north. The road’s width had been narrowed by a freight truck parked without indicators, Police Secours, a platform monitoring deadly accidents in the country, wrote.

“The collision between the bus and the tanker truck started a fire of frightening intensity,” Police Secours wrote.

The report and death toll were confirmed by the Ivorian Press Agency and on the state television channel Radiodiffusion Television Ivoirienne.

Road accidents are frequent in Ivory Coast due to roads in bad conditions and reckless driving. Over 1,000 people are killed every year in road accidents in the West African country, according to the Transportation Ministry.

Last year, authorities introduced a point-based driver license granting each driver a total of 12 points that can be gradually taken away depending on the violation. Cameras were also set up on the country’s main roads to fine offenders.