• 3 days of national mourning
• The State faced with the application of measures
• The Head of State: « There is a ruptureto be made »
Senegal is in mourning from this morning. One of the bloodiest road disasters in the country’s history occurred in Gniby, not far from Kaffrine. Two buses collided on the Kaffrine–Tamba road axis, making a provisional toll of 39 dead, 53 injured. A three-day national mourning was decreed by the President of the Republic, who visited the scene of the tragedy.
They have names… and faces: Siré Bayo Ibrahima, Bamoy Cissé, Fina Coulibaly, Samba Baldé, Aïssata Dia, Moussa Soumboundou, Adama Kandé, Moussa Sèye, Mame Mor Sèye, Awa Loum… It will take up to… 39 dead. In the scale of dramas, there was the sinking of the Joola and now the Sikilo accident. While the Senegalese believed they would no longer relive the horror of such magnitude, the accident in Sikilo plunged the whole country into deep sadness and awakened psychosis. It was between two and three o’clock in the morning that two buses – one which left Dakar for Vélingara and the other, Tamba for Dakar – violently collided on the Rn1 near the town of Sikilo, located in the department of Kaffrine.
The Commander of the Kaffrine Gendarmerie Company, the Brigade Commander and the emergency services such as the Red Cross came to inquire about the situation. While the firefighters and all the Defence and Security Forces were immediately at work to evacuate the wounded and transport the dead bodies to the surrounding health structures, the Kaffrine morgue having reached its limits. Late yesterday, Abdou Karim Fofana, government spokesman, gave an update on the accident: « As part of the follow-up of the care of the victims of the Sikilo accident, in the department of Kaffrine, which occurred this Sunday, January 8, the update of the situation at 6 p.m. reveals the following information: the 2 buses would have contained 139 passengers at the time of the accident; Thirty-nine deaths were noted, 53 wounded, including 52 currently being treated at Thierno Birahim Ndao Hospital in Kaffrine and 1 evacuated to Kaolack Hospital; Forty-seven slightly injured people were interned in health centres near the accident site. The information will be updated in case the situation evolves. »
Doctors From Diourbel and Kaolack Mobilised in Reinforcement
As soon as the accident occurred, the Ministry of Health triggered an emergency plan. In detail, 52 patients were admitted to the Kaffrine hospital, which allowed adequate care. While 48 lightly injured were referred to the city’s health centreand various health posts, the document said. For their treatment, visceral and orthopaedic surgeons, anaesthetists and resuscitators, and anaesthetist technicians from Kaolack, Diourbel and Dakar were dispatched to support the local team.While the national Samu and its branches in Kaolack, Diourbel and Fatick were mobilised to evacuate the seriously injured. « All hospital emergency departments, intensive care units and operating theatres are on high alert and ready for the management of emergencies and surgical needs, » reassured the Ministry of Health. In shock, the population of Kaffrine went to the bedside of the survivors to donate blood. Not to mention the mobilisation of Kaolackois and the National Blood Transfusion Center for blood bags.
The Reasons for an Unprecedented Road Tragedy
As for the origin of the collision, according to the first elements of the judicial police investigation cited in a statement from the public prosecutor at the Kaolack High Court: « A public passenger bus, following the bursting of a tyre, left its trajectory before hitting head-on another bus coming in the opposite direction. » But, according to Major Alioune Kandji, an expert in criminal investigations, there are many reasons: the lack of training of drivers, the lack of rest and obedience of drivers, the condition of vehicles. On the other hand, the indiscipline of some drivers and impunity are highlighted by more than one Senegalese. And among the victims, a famous activist, Kanka Moussa, who in an old video that has gone viral, denounced the chaotic situation on the roads: « Before talking about the responsibility of the State, we must review our behaviour. There is too much indiscipline on the road. Let us tell ourselves the truth, » hammered Kanka Moussaalready before his tragic death on this black Sunday for Senegal.
By Laity NDIAYE
- Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH
