Douala: Truck kills three after colliding with passenger bus

Three people have been reported dead after a Kadji Beer truck lost control and crashed into a passenger bus in Douala on Saturday evening.

The accident happened near Fokou Bonaberi in Cameroon’s largest city, Douala. An informant told MMI that three people died instantly, including two girls and a boy.

They were among several passengers who occupied a bus that is said to have been transporting people to a funeral ceremony.

The incident triggered long hours of traffic around the Bonaberi flyover bridge, where it occurred.

Investigators are yet to ascertain the cause of the tragic incident. Douala and other cities in Cameroon are prone to many such ghastly traffic accidents, which claim thousands of lives each year.

Cameroon records an average of 16,583 road accidents each year, which killed over 6,000 people, the World Health Organisation estimated in 2018.

A 2022 study described road accidents in Cameroon as a public health hazard and attributed the accidents to three main factors: reckless driving, poor roads, and the bad state of vehicles.

The Ministry of Transport has been intensifying measures to limit road accidents, including by slamming sanctions on transport agencies that are involved in accidents.