Benin – Glazoué Tragedy: the bus completely recovered from the Ouémé River

La suite après la publicité

The first images shown depict a white wreck, streaked with some colors, pulled from the depths with chains and reinforcement tires. The bus slowly surfaced under the supervision of the divers and dedicated teams that were mobilized at dawn. Around 2 p.m., the vehicle had not yet been fully pulled out of the water, according to Bip Radio.

The resumption of the search on Monday at 6:30 a.m. required the setup of a special procedure. Traffic on the Thio bridge, located on the Cotonou–Parakou axis, alternated to allow for the extraction maneuvers. The Republican Police managed the traffic flow to prevent any congestion.

A Delicate Operation Under High Surveillance

The crashed bus, registered in Mali, was transporting several dozens of passengers headed for Malanville. According to the rescuers, visibility conditions underwater on Sunday complicated the search and delayed the vehicle’s full extraction. Despite these constraints, the Beninese Civil Protection Agency, the naval forces, and the Republican Police are continuing their efforts.

The tragedy continues to provoke strong emotion in Benin. Authorities, including Interior Minister Alassane Seïdou and the Director General of the Republican Police, Brice Alowanou, visited the scene to monitor the progress of the operations.

The government reiterated its solidarity with the families of the victims and assured that all measures were taken for a successful search operation.

While the toll remains high, with dozens of missing, the rescue teams assert their hope of finding more bodies allowing families to organize proper funerals. The operations continue until the complete extraction of the bus and the bodies of the missing.