A bus taking part in wedding celebrations fell into a river in northern Nigeria, killing at least 19 women and children among the passengers, a union official and residents said Sunday.

The driver stopped the bus on a bridge that had partially collapsed on Saturday evening but it rolled back into the river, Abubakar Muhammed, an official with the NURTW transport operators union, told AFP.

The bus was in a wedding convoy escorting a bride to her new husband’s house and crashed near the village of Fass in Zamfara State, added the official, who said the driver may have forgotten to use the hand brake.

The bus had been heading for Jega in neighbouring Kebbi state. Residents of Fass confirmed the toll of women and children killed.

Traffic accidents are frequent on Nigeria’s badly maintained roads. Some 9,570 accidents recorded last year caused 5,421 deaths, according to the Federal Road Safety statistics. (The Guardian)