Rabat - The investigation into the head-on collision between a bus and a semi-trailer which resulted in the deaths of 33 people last week near the city of Tan Tan has revealed that the truck driver used a hidden container to smuggle fuel.
According to the daily newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum in its Wednesday, April 15th issue cited, the preliminary conclusions of the investigation revealed that the truck's driver added a hidden tank to his vehicle to smuggle fuel bought from Morocco's southern provinces.
Fuel smugglers usually fit their vehicles with extra hidden tanks to ship smuggled hydrocarbons from the country's southern provinces to the north where fuel prices are high.
On Friday, April 10th, a bus carrying nearly 50 people and a semi-trailer collided near the city of Tantan, southern Morocco.
The head-on collision resulted in the deaths of many passengers onboard the two vehicles. Among the fatalities are twenty children who had just finished their participation at a national school games competition.
Al Ahdath Al Maghribiya newspaper said that rescue teams have only been able to identify 26 out of a total 34 victims. The two vehicles burst into flames straight after the crash.
In a statement, the Moroccan interior ministry denied that the semi-trailer was a tanker truck used in the traffic of fuel.
The vehicle was a truck used for the “international transport of goods belonging to a company based in Casablanca,” the Ministry said according to Maghreb Arab Press (MAP).
“As part of its coverage of the tragic accident on April 10 near the town of Tan Tan, some electronic sites have alleged that the truck that collided with the bus was a tanker truck used in the traffic of fuel and allegedly equipped with an additional tank carrying a large amount of gas,” the ministry said in a statement carried by MAP.
“While categorically denying these allegations, the Interior Ministry says that it was a truck used in the international transport of merchandise belonging to a company based in Casablanca,” the statement added.
The post Tan Tan Accident: Truck Driver Used Hidden Container to Smuggle Fuel appeared first on Morocco World News.