Côte d’Ivoire bus crash on Bafing bridge kills 24, injures 36

A passenger bus traveling from Odienné to Yamoussoukro plunged off the Bafing bridge into the river on the morning of 13 July 2026. The vehicle was carrying 69 people, including the crew. Rescue teams recovered 24 dead bodies and extracted 36 injured passengers, while nine individuals remain missing in the water.

The Ivorian Ministry of Transport announced the opening of a technical and administrative inquiry to determine the cause, citing possible vehicle condition, driver error or weather‑related factors. Officials expressed condolences to the families and urged heightened vigilance on the nation’s roads, which see between 1,000 and 1,500 fatalities annually.