According to Senegal’s fire service spokesman, the pile-up between the motorbikes, a truck and a taxi occurred Thursday at Mboro, and seven others were injured in the crash.

The Belgian foreign ministry said the two dead riders, part of a group following KTM rider Rene Delaby, hailed from southern Belgium and were not part of the official Dakar-2005 caravan.

Earlier this week, two-time winner Fabrizio Meoni of Italy suffered a fatal heart attack after a crash in Tuesday's 11th stage, just one day after the death of Spanish motorbike rider Jose Manuel Perez.

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