Raucous celebrations after Algeria qualified for the 2014 World Cup finals were linked to the deaths of 12 people and some 240 injured, authorities reported, as soccer-mad fans poured into the streets and revellers raced their cars and honked.
Women ululated in joy and people waved Algerian flags in victory after the North African country defeated Burkina Faso on Tuesday night (local time).
In a country where political rallies are ill-attended without some kind of financial incentive, nothing gets people into the streets like a soccer championship, with celebrations for ordinary club championships going on well into the night in some neighbourhoods.
Most of the injuries and deaths were young men in traffic accidents, according to emergency services, typically from speeding around crowded city streets or the rain-slicked winding roads in the mountains.
Five fans were killed when their van slid off the road into a ravine in the mountain town of Bejaia, east of Algiers, while four others died in the southern city of Biskra when two trucks collided, according to a statement from emergency services.
