Bus crash blaze kills 38 in Tanzania

DODOMA: A collision between a bus and minibus in Tanzania has killed 38 people after both vehicles were set on fire by the crash, the presidency said on Sunday.

The accident in Sabasaba, in the Kilimanjaro region, on Saturday evening occurred after one of the bus’s tyres punctured, causing the driver to lose control.

“A total of 38 people died in the crash, including two women,” a presidency statement said, adding that 28 others were wounded.

“However, due to the extent of the burns, 36 bodies remain unidentified,” the presidency said.

Six of the injured were still in the hospital for treatment, it added.

Deadly crashes are frequent on Tanzania’s roads.

In a 2018 report, the World Health Organization estimated that 13,000 to 19,000 people in Tanzania were killed in traffic accidents in 2016, far higher than the government’s official toll of 3,256.