Algiers: At least 34 people were killed when an Algerian passenger bus collided head-on with a commercial vehicle and burst into flames in the country’s southern desert Wednesday, officials said.
One of the North African country’s deadliest road crashes in years also left 12 others injured, many with burn wounds, Algeria’s civil defence agency said.
Unverified media images showed the mangled and charred hull of the bus after the accident which occurred at around 4:00 am (0300 GMT) near Tamanrasset, about a 2,000-kilometre (1,250 miles) drive south from the capital Algiers.
Local media reported burnt bodies were recovered from the bus wreck, near the town of Outoul, 20 kilometres west of Tamanrasset, deep in the Sahara.
The civil defence agency said the bus was carrying passengers between Tamanrasset and Adrar, a town of about 2,000 residents to the northwest.
Footage broadcast by local media showed the bus going up in a massive ball of flames.
Other images shared by Algerian media show rescuers at the scene, near the two burnt vehicles that were involved in the accident.
Authorities did not immediately elaborate on the circumstances of the deadly crash or what had caused it.
