Overview

• The crash occurred late Friday in the Mohammadia district of Algiers when a passenger bus veered off a bridge into the Oued El Harrach river.
• President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced a national day of mourning for the victims with flags to be flown at half-mast.
• Algeria’s Civil Protection Service dispatched 25 ambulances, 16 divers and four boats and maintained search operations into the evening.
• Eyewitnesses said local residents jumped into the ravine to assist rescue efforts before Civil Defence teams arrived, and two critically injured passengers have been stabilized at a nearby hospital.
• Authorities have opened an investigation into the cause of the crash in the context of frequent deadly road accidents tied to poor infrastructure and lax enforcement.