At least 35 people were killed and 30 more injured in Syria on Saturday when a civilian bus collided with another carrying members of the country’s security forces, Syria’s health ministry said.
The collision occurred in the center of the country on the highway linking Damascus and Deir al-Zour, the ministry said in a statement. The injuries ranged from moderate to critical, the ministry said, adding that it had placed hospitals, health directorates and blood banks in the governorates of Homs and Rural Damascus on the highest level of readiness.
The Syrian Interior Ministry said in a post on social media that one bus was carrying “a number of members of the Internal Security Forces” and expressed “profound sadness and sorrow” over the accident. The authorities have not given any cause for the collision, or said if it would be investigated.
The Syria Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, said its crews had controlled a fire that broke out as a result of the crash. Photographs shared by the civil defense force on social media showed fire trucks at the scene as rescuers worked to extinguish the blaze.
Others showed the mangled buses at the crash site. One bus appeared to be charred, while the other had its side blown open, with seats strewn on the roadside.
The civil defense force said its teams were providing first aid to the injured and helping the defense ministry evacuate them to a nearby hospital, while recovering the bodies of those killed.
Deadly road accidents are a persistent problem in Syria, where deteriorating infrastructure, damaged roads, poor lighting, speeding and dangerous overtaking are among the factors frequently blamed for crashes. Years of conflict have also left parts of the country’s transport network in poor condition, while economic pressures have contributed to the continued use of older vehicles with limited maintenance.
Hours before reports of the accident on Saturday emerged, the civil defense said in a statement that it had responded to 19 traffic accidents across the country on Friday that killed three people and injured seven others.
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