Thirteen dead, 44 injured in Ivory Coast road crash
A tanker truck has crashed into a bus in northern Ivory Coast, killing 13 people and injuring 44, officials and local media say.
The bus and the truck crashed on Friday night on the highway between Bouake and Korhogo, two largest 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.
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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 1000 people are killed every year in road accidents in the West African country, according to the Transportation Ministry.
Last year, Ivory Coast authorities introduced a point-based driver licence 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.