The death toll from a collision involving two passenger buses on a major highway in Syria has risen to 35, with another 30 people injured, according to state media.
State news agency SANA, citing a health ministry official, reported that the crash occurred on the Damascus-Deir Ezzor road in the country’s central-eastern desert region on Saturday.
The Syrian interior ministry said the accident involved a bus transporting internal security personnel and a civilian passenger bus. Authorities did not immediately disclose how many of those killed or injured were members of the security forces.
Footage aired by state media showed one of the buses engulfed in flames, while debris from the wreckage was scattered across the highway.
The latest tragedy comes just weeks after another deadly road accident in southern Syria. Earlier this month, five people were killed and dozens, mostly Lebanese pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia, were injured when their bus overturned in Daraa province. Local authorities suggested speeding may have contributed to the crash.
In another fatal incident last year, at least 12 people lost their lives when a passenger bus collided with an oil tanker in northeastern Syria.
