TIRANA, July 2 – Eight Albanians have died several more have been injured in road accidents across the country in less than two weeks.
The deadliest crash happened last Sunday in the road linking the southeastern cities of Pogradec and Korca, when a van fell 12 meters off a cliff killing all four people inside.
The same day another man died in Durres, hitting an overpass.
Last Sunday’s fatalities followed another accident a week earlier in the Lezha-Shkodra highway, where a vehicle rollover led to three deaths.
Despite recent police efforts to tame the country’s deadly roads, Albania continues to be one of Europe’s most dangerous places for drivers and passengers. Poor road network infrastructure in many parts of the country and unruly drivers fuel the problem, police said.
Albania on average sees 2,800-3,000 traffic-related accidents per year, with 350 dead on average and 1,800 wounded. Taking into consideration that the country’s resident population is only 2.8 million, those figures are very high, experts note.
