Fans of Algeria's soccer team hold the country's national flag as they celebrate in downtown Algiers, after their team defeated Burkina Faso in their 2014 World Cup qualifying second leg playoff soccer match, November 19, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)
Algerian authorities say 12 people have died and 240 were injured during celebrations for Algeria's 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso that sent the country's team to the 2014 soccer World Cup in Brazil.
A government statement Wednesday said that five celebrating fans were killed when a van slid off the road into a ravine in the mountain town of Bejaia, east of Algiers, while four others died in the southern city of Biskra in a car accident.
The remaining three died in other towns, the statement added without further details.
All across Algeria people poured into the streets to celebrate their team's qualification for the cup, with young men driving their cars down the streets and honking their horns, despite heavy rain in the north Tuesday night.
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