BAMAKO (Reuters) - At least 20 people were killed in central Mali when a truck fell into a river after a suspected brake failure, the Malian government said on Wednesday.

The incident in the West African country’s Mopti region happened late on Monday night.

“The first report puts the toll at 20 killed and 63 rescued by emergency services,” the government said in a statement.

“According to the initial stages of the investigation, a technical failure relating to the brake system could be the origin of this dramatic accident,” it said. </s> BAMAKO: Twenty people died when a truck carrying scores of people back from a village fair in central Mali plunged into a river after its brakes failed, the government said Thursday.

The accident occurred late Monday in the central Saye region, a statement said.

"Sixty-three people were rescued and searches are continuing," it said.

"According to preliminary studies, a technical fault linked to the braking system was at the root of this dramatic accident."

It reminded transporters to follow the law and not mix passengers with merchandise or livestock being transported.

Accidents are common in Mali where bad roads and poorly kept vehicles abound with scant respect for traffic rules. </s> BANGUI, Central African Republic — Local officials say that more than 78 people have been killed after a truck overturned in an accident in Central African Republic’s city of Bambari.

Oumar Tidjani, a member of the young Muslims association of Ouaka, said Thursday that 75 others were injured at the Ngouro bridge about 13 kilometres (8 miles) from Bambari. He said the victims are mostly traders who piled into the truck to go to the weekly market in Maloum.

Hospital workers confirmed that 59 bodies are in the morgue and at least 18 others are with families for burial.

The president’s office appealed to drivers to not transport so many people at once given the terrible conditions of the roads.

International Red Cross workers in Bambari are helping to treat and transfer the wounded. </s> BANGUI: Some 78 people were killed and dozens more were injured when a truck heavily loaded with goods and passengers crashed in Central African Republic, a doctor said on Wednesday. The accident occurred on Tuesday around 10 km outside the town of Bambari, around 300 km northeast of the capital Bangui, as the truck was travelling to a weekly market day in the village of Maloum.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Channelnewsasia.com. </s> Some 78 people were killed and dozens more were injured when a truck heavily loaded with goods and passengers crashed in Central African Republic, a doctor said on Wednesday.

The accident occurred on Tuesday around 10 km outside the town of Bambari, around 300 km northeast of the capital Bangui, as the truck was travelling to a weekly market day in the village of Maloum.

“At the moment, we have counted 78 dead and 72 wounded. Some wounded were taken directly to their homes from the accident scene and died there some time after, but most died here,” said Chamberlain Bama, chief doctor at the university hospital in Bambari.

A member of parliament from Bambari said the truck was overloaded and traveling faster than normal.

“They were driving fast to make it to the market on time. That’s what probably caused the accident,” Amaseka Topi told Reuters.

Decades of neglect have left the landlocked country’s road system in ruins and safety regulations are rarely enforced.

Central African Republic is racked by violence unleashed after mainly Muslim rebels ousted President Francois Bozize in 2013, provoking a backlash from Christian militias.

Thousands have died and a fifth of Central Africans have fled their homes. </s> NIAMEY, Niger -- Authorities in the West African nation of Niger say at least 55 people are dead after a tanker truck filled with fuel exploded near the country's main airport.

President Issoufou Mahamadou called the explosion a "national tragedy" after visiting a hospital where dozens were wounded, some with serious burns. The death toll was expected to rise as doctors said some were in critical condition.

Authorities believe the explosion took place after the tanker truck flipped over near a gas station. A crowd of people came to try and collect the fuel that leaked out as a result of the accident.

Scores of people have died in similar accidents in West Africa as impoverished people risk their lives to collect fuel leaking from pipelines or trucks. </s> At least 36 people were killed in eastern India's West Bengal state early Monday after a speeding passenger bus swerved off a bridge and plunged into a river, police said.

Initial investigations and eyewitness accounts said the bus driver, who also died in the accident, lost control while trying to overtake another vehicle on the bridge.

The bus crashed into the bridge's side railing before plummeting 12 meters (40 feet) into the local Bhairav river.

"Rescuers have retrieved 36 bodies so far. Nine passengers have been hospitalized," state's transport minister Subhendu Adhikari told AFP.

Rescue workers believe that there were more than 50 passengers on the bus at the time of the accident.

The rescue work at the accident site in Murshidabad district, around 187 miles (300 kilometers) from the state capital Kolkata, was ongoing late Monday evening.

"We fear that some of the passengers were swept away as glass windows of the vehicle broke (on impact)," Adhikari said.

The victims include at-least nine women and four children.

The bus lay submerged on the riverbed till emergency workers dragged it to a riverbank.

The rescue workers then used steel cutters to cut open the mangled vehicle and retrieve victims' bodies.

At least 32 people were killed in another road accident after a bus plunged into a river in western Rajasthan state this December.

India has some of the world's deadliest roads.

More than 150,000 people are killed each year with most accidents blamed on poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving. </s> Earlier in the day Reuters reported citing a local mayor that unidentified gunmen on motorbikes attacked two villages in central Mali, killing at least 41 people.

At the same time, according to AFP report citing unnamed local officials, at least 14 people were killed in attacks against two Dogon villages.

The attacks on Ganfafani and Yoro villages left "14 people dead according to a provisional toll", local judicial official Boubacar Sidiki Samake said as cited by AFP. </s> Kathmandu: In a tragic incident at least 20 people killed when a truck carrying mourners returning from a funeral ritual plunged into a river bed in central Nepal, police said.

The vehicle fell from 400 metre, police said on Saturday.

Reports said 14 others were injured as the vehicle veered off an unpaved narrow road in a hilly area around 70 kilometres (45 miles) north of the capital Kathmandu.

Eighteen bodies were recovered from the site. One person died while being taken to hospital and another during treatment, police official Bhimlal Bhattarai said.

Reports said bodies were found scattered on the river bank. Search operation is going on. It was not known how persons were on board, said Bhattarai.

The reason behind the mishap is yet to be confirmed. But police said excessive speed on the narrow road could be one of the reasons.
At least 20 people are killed in central Mali when a truck plunges into a river after a suspected brake failure.