Benin – Glazoué Tragedy: start of identification of bodies recovered from the Ouémé River

The atmosphere in the health facility’s corridors is heavy and marked by deep sadness. Parents, siblings wait with apprehension for the ordeal of identifying the bodies.

“In that bus, I had a brother, same father, same mother, about 40 years old, a merchant,” testifies, with a broken voice, a relative from Djakotomey.

“The last time I saw him was a week ago. After retrieving the body, we will go bury him with other family members.”

As families grapple with this painful reality, the rescue teams are still mobilized on the Ouémé river, in the municipality of Glazoué. Divers and security forces continue their operations trying to find the passengers still missing.

A heavy toll that continues to escalate

According to provisional figures, 27 bodies have been retrieved since the tragedy (one found in the first few hours), while 16 people remain unaccounted for. Nine passengers were able to be rescued during the early interventions.

This toll, already tragic, could further change as the search continues under particularly difficult conditions.

This tragedy, which occurred when an international bus registered in Mali plunged from the Thio Bridge into the Ouémé River, has brought sorrow to dozens of families around the country and beyond.

Since then, the Beninese authorities have been making efforts to assist survivors, support victims’ relatives, and clarify the exact causes of the accident.