40 people died in a traffic accident in Senegal on Sunday night.

When two buses collided near the city of Kaffrine in the center of the West African country, 87 people were injured, a fire department official told the AFP news agency.

"It was a serious accident," said Colonel Cheikh Fall.

According to the information, the accident happened on the N1 highway at 03:15.

The injured were taken to hospitals.

Traffic accidents are common in Senegal.

According to experts, this is mainly due to bad roads and dilapidated vehicles.

The accident on Sunday is still one of the deadliest in recent years.

The country's president ordered a three-day national mourning on Sunday.

"I am deeply saddened by today's tragic traffic accident in Gniby that killed 40 people and seriously injured many," Macky Sall wrote on Twitter Sunday morning.

He expressed his condolences to the families of those affected.

National mourning should apply in the West African coastal country from Monday, Sall wrote in another tweet.

There should also be a ministerial meeting to discuss road safety.

Further details on how the accident happened in the Kaffrine region in central Senegal were not initially available.