24 dead in a bus crash in a valley in Morocco

On Sunday, 24 people were killed when a small bus plunged into a valley on a mountain road in the Azilal region, central Morocco, marking one of the highest death tolls in road accidents recorded in the kingdom, according to local authorities.

The authorities of the region explained to the AFP news agency that the bus, carrying passengers on its way to the weekly market in the city of Demnate, overturned on a sharp bend.

After its fall into a deep valley on a dangerous mountain road, the bus was completely wrecked, according to images broadcast by the second public television channel.

Youssef Mekhloufi, the director of the Demnate Hospital, said in a phone call with television, "Unfortunately... everyone on the bus died. One person was transferred to the hospital in critical condition but, unfortunately, he died from his injuries." Among the 24 victims were two women and a child, according to the television.

An investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances of this tragedy, according to the local authorities.

Roads in Morocco, and in the Maghreb countries in general, are notorious for their danger and witness frequent accidents.

In March, five people were killed and 27 others were injured, 12 of them in critical condition, in a traffic accident near the capital, Rabat.

Another accident in November claimed the lives of 11 people and injured 43 others near the city of Taounate in northeastern Morocco.

In August 2022, a bus accident resulted in the death of 23 people and injured 36 others in the city of Khenifra, east of Casablanca.

Buses are widely used by Moroccans, especially those who cannot afford cars, to travel in rural and remote areas in the country, which has a population of 37 million.

In 2022, road accidents resulted in the deaths of more than 3,200 people in Morocco, a figure that decreased by about 7% from the previous year, according to the latest statistics from the National Road Safety Agency.

After the worst bus accident in the country's history in 2012, which killed 42 people, Moroccan authorities implemented a package of measures to try to enhance road safety and reduce the death rate by half by 2026.



AFP