Thirteen people were burned to death in traffic accident accident in the northern part of it Ivory Coast which specifically involved a passenger bus from Mali and a tanker, it was announced on Saturday by the first aid services and local media.

The traffic accident occurred on Friday around 23:00 local time on the A3 highway that connects Bouake and Korchogo, the two major cities in the north of the country.

The collision occurred between the bus and a tanker truck “overloaded with fuel” coming from the opposite direction, while the road was narrowed by “a lorry with goods, parked without any indication”, according to Police Secours, an alert platform that records the traffic accidents in the country.

“The collision between the bus and the tanker caused a large fire,” Police Secours clarified, citing a “heavy casualty count that is still provisional” with “13 charred bodies.”

The account was confirmed by the news agency Agence ivoirienne de presse (AIP).

Forty-five injured, including 19 children, were taken to the hospitals of the neighboring towns of Katiola and Niakara.

Fatal traffic accidents are frequent in Côte d’Ivoire, due to the poor condition of some roads and many vehicles, as well as drivers not obeying the traffic rules.

Between 1,500 and 1,500 people are killed each year on Ivory Coast’s roads, according to the transport ministry.