Algeria: Bus overturns after departure killing 7 & injuring 25

In Algeria's second bus crash in a fortnight, at least seven people have been killed and left 25 injured on February 4. A day after new road safety measures were revealed, the emergency services reportedly said that the bus service from the eastern town of Souk Ahras to the nearby city of Annaba overturned shortly after its departure.  

Even though the figures for accidents were low in 2018, at a cabinet meeting on February 3, 2020, Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud had unveiled new measures of road safety to reduce the number of casualties. The new measures included speed checks and mapping down the black spots for accidents.  

Earlier on January 19, two buses had collided in the east leaving 12 people dead and 46 injured. According to the national road safety commission, last year at least 22,500 accidents took place leaving 3,275 dead and 22,500 wounded. 

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Bus accident kills 8, injures 34

Meanwhile, another fatal bus accident in Odisha on January 29 killed at least eight people including two women and left 34 injured. The bus had overturned and then rolled down a hilly road in Ganjam district of Odisha in early hours of the day. According to reports, it was a private bus which was travelling from Tikri in Rayagada district to Berhampur. Ganjam District Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange said that the bus had fallen off from a height of 30 feet near Taptapani. 

Ganjam Superintendent of Police Brijesh Kumar Rai reportedly said that initially, they had found bodies of only six people, however, after a thorough search of the severely mangled bus, two more were found. 

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(with inputs from agencies)