TUNIS: At least 16 people were killed and 85 injured on Wednesday when a lorry crashed into a bus in central Tunisia, the interior ministry said.

The dawn accident, which happened by a roadside market near Kasserine, also left around 15 cars ablaze, according to the ministry.

It said the lorry driver, who was among those killed, was unable to brake and his vehicle hit the bus and several cars before slamming into an electricity pole.

Prime Minister Youssef Chahed announced “the immediate opening of an investigation” into the incident, and said he had sent the ministers of defence, health and transport to the scene of the accident.

Dozens of injured were taken to hospital in Kasserine, as emergency crews worked to extract others still trapped in the wreckage.

Photos shared on social media showed columns of thick black smoke rising from the site of the crash, and national television broadcast images of burnt cars.

As of the end of May, 528 people had died in road accidents in the North African country of around 11 million inhabitants since the start of the year.

Published in Dawn September 1st, 2016