Bus crash leaves dozens dead in Morocco

At least 42 people have been killed after a bus travelling between Marrakesh and Ouarzazate in southern Morocco plunged into a ravine, officials say.

All the victims in Tuesday’s crash were Moroccan, a local official told the AFP news agency.

“But we are still in the process of identifying the bodies, as well as the injured,” he added.

The accident took place when the vehicle left a main road in Haouz province, about 100km south of Marrakesh, one of Morocco’s top tourist destinations.

Nearly 25 people who were injured in the accident were taken to different hospitals in the region, according to a local official.

The MAP news agency, which said the bus fell 150 metres, said five of the victims died in hospital, and that 24 people were injured in the crash, four of them critically.

It was the worst bus crash recorded in Morocco, which has a poor road safety record.

In November 2010, 24 people drowned when a bus carrying workmen tumbled into a river near the capital Rabat.

More than 4,000 people died in road accidents in Morocco last year, according to the transport ministry – an increase of 11.6 per cent on the previous year.