34 killed in Algeria bus crash

At least 34 people were killed when an Algerian passenger bus collided head-on with a commercial vehicle and burst into flames before dawn yesterday in the country's southern desert, officials said.

One of the North African country's deadliest road crashes in years also left 12 others injured, many with burn wounds, Algeria's civil defence agency said.

Media images showed the mangled and charred hull of the bus after the 4:00 am (0300 GMT) accident near Tamanrasset, a city about a 2,000-kilometre (1,250 miles) drive south from the capital Algiers.

Local media reported burnt bodies were recovered from the bus wreck, near the town of Outoul.