One person died and 44 are missing after a bus carrying passengers fell into the Ouémé River in central Benin last night, the country's interior ministry said, quoted by Agence France-Presse and BTA.
In a statement published today, Interior Minister Alassane Seydoux said that the driver of the bus, which was traveling from Lomé to Niamey, "lost control of the vehicle after hitting the railing of the bridge over the Ouémé River hard before the bus sank to the bottom".
According to Seydoux, the bus was carrying 54 people, and the victim was taken to the morgue in Savi, the nearest major city. city, and 44 people "are still missing".
Nine survivors were evacuated in "stable condition" to the Savi hospital, the minister added.
The causes of the accident are still under investigation, and operations to remove the bus are ongoing.
The minister said "all resources" have been mobilized to find the missing.