At a press conference held at the crash scene on Wednesday, the interior minister of Senegal reported that 24 persons had been killed, including 4 children.
“At 7:40 a.m. (07:40 GMT), an accident occurred close to the village of Dielerlou Syll in the Louga region, injuring 54 persons,” said Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome.
The previous death toll estimate came from President Macky Sall and stood at 23.
The bus’s carcass and the passengers’ luggage were reportedly observed laying on the side of the road in the semi-arid countryside near the accident site, as reported by an AFP correspondent.
The minister stated that the bus had been traveling from a northern town and was “overcrowded” with 76 people. The bus only had room for 60 people.
A firefighter said that the “bus had skidded and flipped, sending all four tires into the air.”
The minister also said that the injured were taken to hospitals in the nearby towns of Louga and Saint-Louis.
In January, a crash near Louga claimed the lives of 19 individuals and injured 24 others.
