Chad bus smash leaves 'around 30' dead

Around 30 people were killed and some 50 were injured when two buses collided in central Chad, the Sahel country's transport ministry said on Monday.

The accident happened overnight on Sunday when a passenger bus coming from the capital N'Djamena collided with a bus from Abeche, the country's third-largest town, the ministry said in a statement.

Abdelaziz Hisseine, secretary of the department (county) of Batha West, put the toll at 33 dead and 54 injured.

"All of the injured have been taken to Abeche," said Hisseine. The ministry statement said an inquiry had been launched.

Fatal traffic accidents are frequent in Chad, a vast semi-desert country, typically caused by excessive speed, bad roads and poor vehicle roadworthiness.

At least eight people were killed in a truck accident in the south of the country in July 2021.