At least 34 killed in Madagascar bus crash- Officials

At least 34 people died on Tuesday when a bus carrying young Christian worshippers plunged down a steep ravine in Madagascar, police and hospital officials said.

Police said 12 badly-burned bodies were counted at the site after the late-night crash.

“It is unimaginable what happened because the car was in good condition, the papers of the vehicle were in order. My wife and my children were among the passengers. The whole family is dead,” said Elias Ralaiarimanana, a bus driver.

“The bus struggled to climb a road on a hill and fell down a ravine about 20 metres deep,” police spokesman Herilalatiana Andrianarisaona told AFP.

The central hospital in the capital Antananarivo on Tuesday in a news release announced the death of 18 other persons.

The whole family is dead,” said Jean-Marie Rasamimanana, Assistant Director technique HJRA Hospital.

Passengers on the packed bus were travelling from the central town of Soavinandriana to a church meeting in the north-western coastal port city of Mahajanga when the accident happened.

34 young Christians killed in horrific bus crash on their way to pilgrimage in Madagascar https://t.co/CjqFRV3ve7 pic.twitter.com/kk8zE0ICId

— ChristianNewsOrg (@ChristianNewsOr) August 2, 2017

Accidents of such nature are not rare in Madagascar, where the road network and vehicles are extremely dilapidated.
In January, at least 47 people died, and 22 were injured in a truck which brought them to a marriage.