Cape Town — Ivorian singer and star of the coupé-décalé DJ Arafat is dead.  He died August 12, as a result of a traffic accident that occurred on Sunday evening, Ivorian Radio-Television (RTI) announced on its Twitter account.

Around 11 pm on August 11, DJ Arafat and a group of friends took their motor bikes for a ride in Abidjan. He crashed into a  a vehicle driven by a journalist from Radio Côte d'Ivoire at high speed. Social media images show his bike and the car were completely damaged in the accident. Other videos showed DJ Arafat lying on the road, unconscious.

He was rushed to hospital.

Rumours began circulating that alcohol and drugs were involved, but his communications officer Yves Jay Jay refuted these.

He later posted on his Facebook page reassuring fans that DJ Arafat was still in intensive care, but in a stable state.

According to the Ivorian Life magazine, the journalist from Radio Côte d'Ivoire is still hospitalized. She is out of danger, but remains under observation.

This story was translated from the RFI story in French by Michael Tantoh.