Tragedy has struck the roadways once again in two separate incidents. A staff transport bus plunged into a ravine in Ibn Ziad, located in the province of Constantine, while in Tiaret, a collision involving a passenger car and a commercial truck claimed additional lives, adding to an already devastating human toll across the national road network.
In Constantine, the finalized assessment provided by Civil Protection confirms 6 fatalities and 22 injuries. First responders were alerted early Thursday morning, at 05:19, after a staff commuter bus skidded off the pavement and overturned into a steep ravine along National Route 79, which connects Constantine to Mila near the municipality of Ibn Ziad.
Given the severity of the crash, emergency services mobilized a large-scale response team comprising 40 personnel across all ranks, 10 ambulances, two rescue trucks, and fire suppression vehicles. The 22 injured individuals, presenting varying degrees of trauma, were rushed for medical treatment to the Ibn Ziad polyclinic, the El Bir public hospital facility, and the Benbadis University Hospital Center in Constantine. Security services promptly initiated an investigation to pinpoint the precise causes of the disaster.
On the same day, grief also struck the province of Tiaret. Within the municipality of Chehaima, a collision between a passenger sedan and a heavy truck resulted in six deaths and two injuries, according to an official press release from the Ministry of the Interior, Local Authorities, and Transport. Following the incident on provincial road 2, local officials mobilized all available personnel and material resources to assist the injured, who were transferred to the Ain Deheb public hospital. An inquiry was likewise launched to clarify the circumstances surrounding the crash.
These twin disasters follow a particularly lethal span of just a few days, reigniting urgent debate surrounding highway safety. Earlier, the province of Boumerdes witnessed one of its most tragic incidents in recent years when a long-distance passenger coach veered off the road and tumbled into a ravine, resulting in 27 deaths and 42 injuries. Shortly thereafter, the province of Timimoun was hit by another bus crash that claimed 4 lives and left around forty people injured.
This string of road disasters highlights the critical need to enforce technical vehicle inspections, monitor mandatory rest periods for professional drivers, and upgrade safety infrastructure nationwide.