Ten more bodies have been recovered from the Ouémé River in Benin, where a bus sank overnight from Saturday to Sunday, bringing the death toll to 37, the director of civil protection said on Wednesday.

"On the first day, 27 bodies were recovered, and on the second day, 10 bodies, making a total of 37 bodies recovered," said Abdel Aziz Bio Djibril, adding that the search continues to find six people still missing.

Nine survivors were hospitalized on Sunday in stable condition.

On the night of Saturday to Sunday, the driver of the bus operated by the STM company, a major coach company in West Africa, lost control of the vehicle which plunged into the Ouémé River.

The accident took place near Savè (centre), on the National Interstate Road No. 2 which crosses the whole of Benin, from its economic capital Cotonou, in the south, to Malanville.

"There are many Nigerians among the passengers, but also Beninese and probably other foreign nationalities," said Mr. Bio Djibril.

The bus, which was carrying 52 passengers at the time of the accident, had left Lomé, the capital of Togo, for Malanville, a town on the border with Niger in northern Benin.

Niger has kept its border with Benin closed for two years due to a diplomatic dispute.

Passengers who want to reach Niamey are therefore generally obliged to get off at Malanville to cross the border clandestinely and continue their journey.

On Sunday evening, Beninese Interior Minister Alassane Seïdou stated that "all means" were being deployed to find the missing persons.