Yaounde — The Catholic archbishop of Yaounde has been flown to Paris, France, for further treatment after he sustained serious injuries in a ghastly car accident on the Douala-Yaounde highway last Thursday.

Archbishop Felix Victor Tonye Bakot, 61, is currently under close medical surveillance at Raymond Franck Caré Hospital in Paris, the Post Newspaper reported. The transfer to Paris was ordered by Cameroonian President Paul Biya, according to the paper.

Before Archbishop Bakot left Cameroon, the director of the Yaounde Central Hospital, Dr. Sida Biwole, and Cameroonian doctors had been closely monitoring his situation.

In a series of press briefings, Dr. Biwole reassured the public that Archbishop Bakot was responding well to treatment but "an evacuation for a more specialised attention and treatment out of Cameroon will be advisable."

Archbishop Bakot's driver and uncle also sustained serious injuries and are still at the emergency department of the Yaounde Central Hospital.

Eye witnesses quoted by The Post said the archbishop's car had a head-on collision with another car as his driver tried to over-take. Some of the first persons who visited Archbishop Bakot in hospital were the Archbishop of Douala, Cardinal Christian Whiyghan Tumi, and the Prime Minister, Ephraim Inoni.

Archbishop Bakot was born March 24, 1947, and was ordained a priest of Douala Diocese. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Douala in 1987 and in 1993 was moved to Edea Diocese. Bakot was made archbishop of Yaoundé in 2003.