Côte d’Ivoire: UN forces help in rescue operations after deadly bus accident

United Nations peacekeepers in Côte d’Ivoire today helped local authorities in rescue and recovery operations after a crowded bus crashed from a bridge into a lagoon in Abidjan, the largest city, killing 46 people according to provisional estimates.

The UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) dispatched three ambulances, two motorboats from the Bangladeshi component, special forces from its Jordanian contingent and a police unit to the scene of the accident.

UNOCI, with some 10,000 uniformed personnel on the ground, has been supporting stabilization and reunification efforts in Côte d’Ivoire over the past seven years after civil war split the country into a rebel-held north and a Government-controlled south.

The mission played a major role in last year’s elections and this year’s installation of the winner, Alassane Ouattara, after defeated president Laurent Gbagbo initially refused to step down.

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