At least 28 people have been killed after a passenger bus collided head-on with a timber-laden truck in Morogoro, eastern Tanzania, in a tragic road accident that left the bus completely burnt.
The Friday crash claimed the lives of 27 bus passengers and one person travelling in the truck, according to Morogoro Regional Fire and Rescue Force chief Joseph Mwasabeja.
Mwasabeja said the passenger bus caught fire following the collision, complicating rescue efforts as emergency teams responded to the scene.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the truck was travelling from Iringa towards Dar es Salaam when its driver allegedly attempted to overtake other vehicles without taking adequate precautions, resulting in the fatal collision.
The passenger bus was heading in the opposite direction along the highway on the Dar es Salaam–Mbeya route when the two vehicles crashed head-on.
Authorities have yet to establish the full number of people injured in the accident. Some victims were rushed to hospital for treatment, while the whereabouts and condition of other people involved in the crash remained unclear.
Morogoro Regional Referral Hospital public relations officer Scholastica Ndunga said the facility would issue an official statement providing details of the fatalities and the number of injured people admitted for treatment.
The circumstances surrounding the crash remain under investigation, with authorities expected to release further information as efforts to establish the full extent of the casualties continue.
The incident adds to concerns over road safety, particularly the dangers associated with unsafe overtaking, which can result in devastating head-on collisions.
Authorities have not yet provided a comprehensive account of the survivors or confirmed whether any arrests have been made in connection with the crash.
