34 killed, 12 injured in Algeria road accident

Civil defence confirms death toll after passenger bus, utility vehicle collided and burst into flames.

At least 34 people have been killed and 12 injured when a utility vehicle and a passenger bus collided in southern Algeria’s Tamanrasset province.

Civil defence reported on its Facebook page that authorities showed up at the scene of the accident about 4:15am (03:15 GMT) on Wednesday after the accident on National Road 01 in the village of Outoul, 1,900km (1,180 miles) south of the capital, Algiers.

The civil defence team confirmed the number of deaths and said those injured were taken to hospital.

Videos posted by local news outlets, including a clip posted by Info Trafic Algerie, showed the aftermath of the accident and the vehicles in flames.

Civil defence shared several pictures of the accident with both vehicles burned-out and destroyed.

Translation: Road accident in the state of Tamanrasset.  A collision between a utility vehicle and a bus transporting passengers, followed by a fire. The number of victims who were “burned” by the fire has risen to 34 and 12 were wounded. The operation is still under way. 

(Older update) Translation: Road accident in the state of Tamanrasset. A collision between a utility vehicle and a bus, followed by a fire. The number of victims who were “burned” by the fire has risen to 32 and 11 were wounded. The operation is still under way. 

Ici Biskra, a local news page for the citizens of Biskra province, also shared pictures on its Facebook page from the scene: