At least 24 people killed in bus crash in Morocco

An investigation into the cause of the accident has been opened, authorities say.

epa08316393 Moroccan officers stand near an ambulance carrying a suspected case of coronavirus in Rabat, Morocco, 23 March 2020. According to Moroccan authorities, 12 new cases of the novel coronavirus were reported in Morocco on 23 March bringing the total number to 134 cases. EPA-EFE/JALAL MORCHIDI
Sunday's crash is the latest in a string of deadly road accidents in the North African nation [File: Jalal Morchidi/EPA]

At least 24 people have died after a vehicle crashed in Morocco in one of the deadliest accidents in recent years in the country.

A minibus heading to a weekly market in Demnate town in the central province of Azilal overturned while carrying passengers on a street on Sunday, authorities told state-run news agency MAP.

“Immediately alerted … local authorities, the Royal Gendarmerie and the civil protection services went to the scene to take the necessary measures,” it said.

A probe to determine the cause of the accident has been launched, it added.

Sunday’s crash is the latest in a string of deadly road accidents in the North African nation.

Last summer 23 people died when a bus overturned on a motorway east of Casablanca, the country’s economic capital.

In 2015, in the southwestern province of Tan-Tan, 33 people, mostly schoolchildren, died after their bus caught fire after colliding with a trailer truck as they returned from a sporting event.

That crash involving the young athletes was the deadliest in Morocco since 2012 when a bus plunged into a ravine killing 42 people.

Source: Al Jazeera

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