Central African Republic crash kills 30, injures dozens

Thirty people have been killed and at least 40 injured when a truck crashed into a ravine in the Central African Republic.

European Union's Eufor in Central African Republic

European Union's Eufor mission patrol in military vehicles in a street of the PK5, the last remaining Muslim district in Bangui on August 21, 2014.

Thirty people have been killed and at least 40 others injured when a truck crammed with travellers crashed overnight in the Central African Republic, the African peacekeeping force MISCA says.

A truck "carrying close to 100 people" as well as luggage travelling in a convoy escorted by MISCA left the road and crashed into a ravine in the southwest region of Boali, a source from the peacekeeping operation said on Friday.

"The bodies of victims and those injured were transported by MISCA to health facilities in Bangui."

Last week, a similar incident saw 12 people killed and around 50 injured in CAR's southern Mbaiki region.

A chronic lack of infrastructure in the crisis-striken landlocked nation means many travellers are regularly forced to cram into overloaded trucks, which are often barely roadworthy.

Thousands of people have died and nearly a quarter of the population of CAR -- one of the poorest countries on earth -- has been driven from their homes in the chaos that followed a March 2013 coup against long-serving President Francois Bozize.

France has deployed some 2000 troops to try to stop the killings, and the African Union has sent 5800 troops who will be folded into a new UN peace mission for CAR to begin on Monday.


Share
2 min read

Published

Updated


Tags

Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
Central African Republic crash kills 30, injures dozens | SBS News