Six members of the Togo's Etoile Filante soccer club died in a bus accident on Saturday in Togo and 25 people were injured. The team was headed to Sokode, where it was scheduled to play Sunday, when a tire reportedly burst, causing the bus to flip and catch fire.

"Twenty-five others, including some players, are severely injured. Most of the victims died in the fire," Togo soccer federation spokesman Aime Ekpe said.

Among the victims were club secretary general Christophe Dagbovi and assistant coach Isidore Kouma.

Soccer in the West African country has suffered a series of misfortunes in recent years. Gunmen attacked a bus carrying Togo's national to the African Cup of Nations in Angola in 2010, killing the team coach and the director of communications. In 2007, a helicopter carrying 22 Togolese soccer officials, including Sports Minister Richard Attipoe, crashed in Sierra Leone in 2007. No one survived.