Thirteen people were killed Tuesday morning June 28 in southern Togo, after a mini-bus hit a tree following the bursting of one of its tires under the effect of excessive speed, we learned from an official source.
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The bus, which was mainly carrying shopkeepers
, "skidded following the bursting of the front-right tire, due to the speed and the poor condition of the tires, to end up under the bridge over the river"
, according to a press release from the Minister of Health. Security, General Damehame Yark.
The accident occurred on National 1 - linking Togo to Burkina - in the locality of Bako, about 100 kilometers north of Lomé, around 07:00 (local and GMT).
“In its fall, the bus stumbled against a teak before overturning on its right side causing significant material and human damage.
There are a total of 13 dead and 15 injured,”
the statement said.
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Fatal accidents are frequent on the main roads of Togo, a small country in West Africa of around 8 million inhabitants, in particular due to overloading of public transport and speeding.
Road accidents claimed 680 lives in 2021, according to statistics from the Ministry of Safety.