Indian Vatican envoy to Ivory Coast dies in car accident

The papal envoy to Ivory Coast, Indian Archbishop Ambrose Madtha, died in a road accident on Saturday.

"The Apostolic Nuncio to Ivory Coast, Archbishop Ambrose Madtha, died Saturday evening in a serious car accident," reported Vatican Radio, the official broadcast service of the Vatican.

According to preliminary information, the accident occurred in Biankouma, west of the capital, Abidjan

The driver also reportedly died in the accident, while the Nuncio's secretary and a religious sister were injured.

Archbishop Madtha, born in Belthangady, India, in 1955, had been Nuncio in Ivory Coast since 2008, and was well known for his commitment to peace and overcoming the recent tensions in the country.

Reports said Madtha was killed when his car collided with another vehicle while he was returning from North-Eastern town of Odienne.

The 57-year old archbishop had earlier served apostolic nunciatures in Ghana, El Salvador, Georgia, Albania and Republic of China (Taiwan).

Madtha studied Philosophy and Theology at St Charles Seminary, Nagpur and obtained doctorate in canon law from Urban University in Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1982.

Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara, in a statement read on national television, expressed his "deep regret" at the death and sent condolences to the church and Madtha's family.

According to an AFP report, Madtha played a crucial mediating role during Ivory Coast's 2010-11 political crisis when the previous ruler, Laurent Gbagbo, refused to step down even though Ouattara was declared winner of presidential elections.

The Catholic Church was put in a difficult situation since some of the country's bishops favoured Gbagbo, who comes from the country's majority Christian south.

Around 40 per cent of Ivory Coast's population is Muslim and 40 percent Christian.