Ngaoundere-Garoua highway: At least 10 die, over 30 injured in road accident.

The tragic accident occurred yesterday, causing severe material damages and loss of human lives.

The accident, reports hold, involved the interurban bus, Touristique Express and a truck that was transporting goods.

The bus is said to have left Yaounde in the night of Tuesday August 8 and was supposed to arrive Garoua, in the North Region, yesterday. It had on board at least 56 passengers.

Reports say the tragic incident occurred around 10 a.m, along the deadly Mbe Cliff, on the Ngaoundere-Garoua axis in the Adamawa Region.

The coaster is reported to have collided sideways against a fast moving truck, loaded with goods, before overturning and killing some of its occupants and wounding others. The bus, which overturned, was partially damaged by the side.

Videos and images of the incident later emerged yesterday, showing locals struggling to assist victims. Some of the victims are said to have been rushed to the Garoua Regional Hospital, where they are receiving treatment. The bodies of the victims were ferried to the mortuary in the same health facility, pending identification and funeral arrangements.

Though the exact cause of the accident is yet to be established, those who lived the accident say they blamed it on over speeding and the several bends along the Mbe cliff.

Governor calls for caution

Shortly after the accident, the Governor of the Adamawa Region, Kildadi Taguieke Boukar, rushed to the scene, alongside security officers. The administrator bemoaned the losses suffered but urged drivers and road users to be cautious when plying the Garoua-Ngaoundere stretch.

The said axis, he said, is in a bad state. He said drivers must stop driving at high velocity once on the stretch.

Meanwhile, security forces helped in rescuing those wounded and removed corpses from the damaged vehicle. Traffic was restored hours after the coaster was cleared from the site of the accident.

Yesterday’s deadly accident came exactly three months after some 15 persons died along the Garoua-Boulai road in East Region on May 9, 2023. It was yet, a Touristique Express bus, that was involved in the accident that claimed 15 lives and left several severely injured. 

Reacting to the accident of May 9, 2023, the Minister of Transport, Jean Ernest Massena Ngalle Bibehe, had in a release signed two days after, suspended Touristique Express, for a period of one month renewable.

The decision, the member of government had said, was as a result of the failure to respect driving norms, thus leading to the accident that claimed the lives of many.

Prior to the decision, the Director General of Touristique Express, Mohamadou Abdoulaye, had released several video clips criticising the decision of the minister. 

The transport boss was forced to lift the suspension, just days after, following what observers had qualified as Grand North solidarity, mobilisation, arm-twisting and subtle blackmail against the Biya regime.