Dozens injured after coach travelling from Sétif veers off road in Boumerdes province; president declares three days of national mourning.
At least 25 people have been killed and more than 40 injured after a passenger bus plunged into a deep ravine east of the Algerian capital, authorities said.
The accident occurred on Friday in the locality of El Karma in Boumerdes province, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Algiers. The bus, travelling from the eastern city of Sétif to the capital, skidded off the road for reasons that remain under investigation and tumbled into the ravine.
Algeria’s Civil Protection agency reported a provisional toll of 25 dead and 44 injured. Health Minister Mohamed Seddik Ait Messaoudene later put the number of fatalities at 27, with 39 people injured, warning that the death toll could rise further as rescue operations continued. Emergency teams worked for hours at the scene as ambulances ferried the wounded to nearby hospitals, including the University Hospital of Boumerdes.
Algeria Declares Three-Day Mourning After Deadly Bus Crash:
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune declared three days of national mourning in honour of the victims. In a statement, he described those responsible for such road accidents as “road criminals and terrorists” and vowed that the justice system would “crack down with an iron fist and without any leniency” once the investigation is complete. He also offered condolences to the families of the dead.
Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb visited the crash site and later met some of the injured in hospital. Civil Protection teams had been dispatched to the scene around 9:40am local time (08:40 GMT).
The exact cause of the crash has not been determined. Algerian road safety authorities say human factors, particularly speeding, are the main cause of traffic accidents in the country. In 2025, 3,838 people died and more than 37,000 were injured on Algeria’s roads.
Algeria Bus Crash Leaves Dead, Sparks Fresh Safety Concerns:
Friday’s disaster is the latest in a series of deadly bus accidents in Algeria. In August 2025, a public transport bus crashed through a safety barrier in Algiers and plunged into a river, killing 18 people and injuring 21. In December of the same year, 14 people died when a bus overturned in the southern province of Bechar.
Rescue workers have since recovered the wrecked vehicle from the ravine. Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances of the crash as the country observes the period of mourning for the victims.