Fatalities in Syrian bus accident climb to 35

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The death toll from a collision between two passenger buses in central-eastern Syria rose to 35 on Saturday, state media reported.

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The SANA news agency, quoting a Health Ministry official, said 30 other people were injured in the crash on the Damascus-Deir Ezzor road.

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Syria’s Interior Ministry said one of the buses was carrying security personnel while the other was a civilian bus, but did not specify how many of the casualties were members of the security forces.

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State media broadcast footage showing one of the buses on fire, with debris scattered across the highway.

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Earlier this month, five people were killed and dozens injured, most of them Lebanese pilgrims, when a bus returning from Saudi Arabia overturned on a highway in southern Syria’s Daraa province.

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Provincial authorities had suggested speeding may have caused that crash.

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After years of civil war and neglect, Syria’s infrastructure has deteriorated, with many of the country’s roads in need of repairs.

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Last year, at least 12 people were killed and several others injured when a bus collided with an oil tanker in northeastern Syria.

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