CENTRAL BOSNIAN BUS ACCIDENT'S DEATH TOLL RISES TO 43

SARAJEVO, May 13 (Hina) - The death toll of a bus accident near the town of Kakanj rose to 43 after one of seriously injured passengers died in Zenica Hospital on Saturday afternoon. Bosnia-Herzegovina's Radio quoted hospital sources as saying that most of 11 remaining gravely hurt patients were still in serious condition. Only one person was allowed to go home after he was treated for slight injuries. A bus carrying 54 pilgrims from the central town of Zenica to a Moslem shrine in Buna, the southern Herzegovina region, plunged into the Bosna River in the early Saturday morning. It fell from the 20-metre-high bridge at Zli Brijeg into the river. Of 54 passengers, 42 died at the site of the accident. According to those who survived the crash, shortly before precipitating from the bridge on the Zenica-Sarajevo road, the bus shook violently, took a sharp turn to the left and smashed through the double barrier on the bridge. Causes of the accident are still unknown, and police have launched an investigation. The wreck of the bus was pulled from the river for an expert probe. The bus driver survived and can help police in efforts to clarify the reasons for the accident. All casualties were from Zenica and most of them were elderly persons. (hina) ms