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At least 40 people have died in a bus crash in central Senegal.

The incident took place at 3.15am local time on Sunday in the Gniby region and involved two buses that collided with each other.

At least 87 people are also reported to have been injured in the crash.

Victims of the crash have been taken to medical facilities and a hospital in the nearby town of Kaffrine.

Senegalese authorities have since cleared the wreckage and debris caused by the crash and normal traffic has resumed. 

President Macky Sall offered his condolences to the families of the victims who died (AP)© Provided by The Independent

President Macky Sall tweeted that he was “deeply saddened by today’s tragic road accident”.

President Sall, in a later tweet, also announced that a three-day period of national mourning would take place. 

The president committed to holding an “interministerial council ... to take firm measures on road safety and public transport”.

Speaking with AFP news agency, public prosecutor Cheikh Dieng said that early investigations into the crash have suggested the accident was caused when “following the bursting of a tyre, left its trajectory before colliding head-on with another bus coming in the opposite direction”.

Colonel Cheikh Fall, head of the Senegalese National Fire Brigade, told reporters: “It was a serious accident.”

Colonel Fall also reported that the region’s governor and local officials have visited the scene.

Experts have told AFP that road accidents are common in Senegal, largely due to a suggested lack of driver discipline, poor road safety and older vehicles.

The death toll is not fully confirmed, but the accident is one of the largest from a single crash in recent years.