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CONAKRY - Sixty-five people were killed after a bridge collapsed under the weight of a truck packed with passengers and merchandise in south-eastern Guinea, a senior army official in the West African country said today.
The accident happened as the truck was heading for a local market near the remote town of Gueckedou yesterday, more than 400km from the capital Conakry, the official said.
"There are 65 dead. A bridge collapsed under the weight of a truck carrying people who were on their way to a weekly market," the military officer, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.
French radio RFI said there were seven survivors.
Traffic accidents are frequent in the former French colony and across West Africa. Roads are poorly maintained and vehicles are often decrepit and overloaded with passengers and goods. But the death toll is rarely so high.
The Guinea Forestiere region where the accident happened borders Sierra Leone and Liberia and is made up of dense equatorial forests and rolling hills. Few roads are metalled and those that are contain huge potholes.
Despite its mineral wealth -- Guinea is the world's leading exporter of bauxite, used to produce aluminium -- the country is mired in poverty, with most of its nearly 10 million people surviving on less than US$1 a day.
It is also in a state of political crisis.
Since the start of the year, more than 120 people have been killed in repeated protests and general strikes against ageing President Lansana Conte.
Conte, a reclusive diabetic in his 70s who seized power in a 1984 coup, appointed a new prime minister last month in a deal to end the unrest but the new head of government has yet to name his cabinet.
- REUTERS
