At least 23 people were killed and 36 injured in a bus crash east of Casablanca on Wednesday in one of Morocco’s worst traffic dramas in recent years, according to regional health authorities.
The vehicle overturned on a curve on a national road in Gauribka province, local authorities said, noting that foreign tourists were among the victims.
According to the latest report, 23 passengers died and 36 others were injured in the accident, AFP doctor Rochdi Ghadar told the regional health director in the evening.
The coach provided a link between the megalopolis of Casablanca and the rural area of Ait Adab near the town of Beni Mellal at the foot of the High Atlas.
The injured were evacuated to Gauribka Provincial Hospital and an investigation was launched.
The coach is a mode of transport widely used by Moroccans, especially the more modest who cannot afford a car, to travel in rural and isolated areas.
Known as the most dangerous roads in the world, traffic accidents are frequent and often fatal in the Maghreb.
In Morocco, according to statistics from the National Road Safety Agency (NARSA), there are an average of 3,500 deaths and 12,000 serious injuries each year, with an average of 10 deaths and 33 serious injuries.
Moroccan authorities have implemented a series of measures to combat the scourge of road insecurity following the worst bus accident in the country’s history in 2012 (42 people died).
“Total coffee junkie. Tv ninja. Unapologetic problem solver. Beer expert.”