Six people killed in road crash

Six people were killed and 26 were injured in a passengers' bus crash Thursday in the medium Atlas mountain town of Azrou, local authorities said.

The bus flipped over under the rain. All victims are Moroccan nationals.

This is the second serious accident in four days. The first accident occurred Monday near Marrakesh, when a passengers' bus fell in a ravine, killing 31 people and injuring several others.

According to available figures, the number of road accidents in 1999 amounted to 46,717, killing 3,394 persons and injuring 70,331. The number increased by 12 per cent compared to 1998.

To curb the plague, King Mohammed VI has instructed the Prime Minister to chair the national commission of struggle against road accidents.

The transport department is devising, in this vein, a national strategy to struggle against road accidents.