In the early morning of January 27, 2021, a passenger bus operated by an interurban travel agency collided with a truck carrying fuel at the Cliff of Dschang, in the commune of Santchou, close to the major city of Dschang, Cameroon. 53 people were killed by the crash; a further 29 survived with severe burns.
The governor of Cameroon's West Region, Awa Fonka Augustine, said fog may have been a cause of the accident, and an initial investigation found that the van had a âÂÂbrake problemâÂÂ. He later stated: âÂÂA speeding truck illegally transporting fuel ran into the 70-seat bus transporting passengers from the coastal commercial city of Douala to Bafoussam, the capital of CameroonâÂÂs West region,â Augustine said. âÂÂA collision between the truck and the bus sparked uncontrollable fire which ravaged the truck, the bus and its occupants.âÂÂ
Jean Ernest Massena Ngalle Bibehe, Cameroon's Transport Minister said that the bus belonged to Menoua Voyages, an agency operating in the area.
Manfred Missimikin of road accident prevention NGO Securoute said âÂÂa succession of negligenceâ was to blame for the tragedy. âÂÂThe truck carrying fuel was not authorised to do so,â he told Agence France-Presse.