At least 27 people have died in Benin after a passenger bus plunged from a bridge into the Oueme River, rescue officials confirmed on Tuesday, as search efforts continue for those still missing.
The director of the country’s civil protection agency, Abdel Aziz Bio Djibril, told local broadcaster Bip Radio that 23 bodies were recovered from the submerged vehicle and another three from the river itself, in addition to one victim found on Sunday.
Nine survivors were taken to hospital and are reported to be in stable condition. Among the dead were three children, according to the state newspaper La Nation.
A civil protection officer, who asked not to be named, confirmed the updated death toll and said 16 people were still unaccounted for. “The bus fell directly into the water but was not immediately submerged. Those who could swim managed to escape, but many others likely drowned. The bodies may have drifted further downstream,” Bio Djibril explained.
The vehicle, operated by the transport company STM, had set out from Lomé, the capital of neighbouring Togo, carrying 52 passengers.
The crash occurred along Interstate 2, Benin’s main north–south highway linking the commercial capital, Cotonou, with Malanville on the Niger border.
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