Twelve people were killed and another 46 injured when two buses collided early Sunday in Algeria's northeast, emergency services reported.
Emergency teams arrived after midnight following a fatal accident, a collision between two buses, on the state highway near the city of Astil" in the province of Biskra, 500 km southeast of Algiers, a statement said.
"Twelve people, aged 19 to 73, were killed and 46 were injured," the statement added.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune offered his condolences to the victims' families and asked Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad to oversee assistance.
For his part, Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud and Health Minister Abderrahmane Benbouzid went to the scene.
Public radio quoted Ahmed Baoudji, director of emergency services for the nearby city of El Oued, as saying preliminary investigations indicated speeding was the probable cause, AFP reported.
According to the national road safety commission, a government agency, 3,275 people were killed in road crashes in Algeria in 2019 and more than 30,000 injured.
It also reported a small decrease in the number of accidents -- almost 22,000 -- compared to 2018.
