Bus-lorry collision kills 21 in Tanzania
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on The Citizen and Tuko
The accident occurred at around 1 a.m. on Monday 9 November at the Kiponzelo junction, in the division of the same name, according to the Iringa regional police quoted by The Citizen. The bus, a Fuso registered T 892 DRE and operated by Maokoto Bus Services, was coming from the village of Wasa towards Iringa when it pulled onto the main road without caution and hit an oncoming Scania lorry with a trailer, registered T 859 DVK and T 4 DCA. The lorry, driven by Gabon Masele, of Keko in Dar es Salaam, was heading to DR Congo. The police attribute the collision to the bus driver's lack of caution when joining the road.
Among the 21 people killed were ten men, nine women and two young boys aged three to five. The five injured are receiving care at Iringa referral hospital, Ipamba designated hospital and Masumbo dispensary in Ifunda, while the bodies of the victims are being kept at Iringa referral hospital. The authorities called on road users to respect the highway code to reduce fatal accidents.
The president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, expressed her sadness after the tragedy was announced and offered her condolences to the Iringa regional commissioner, Kheri James, and to the families, relatives and friends of the victims. She prayed for the injured to recover quickly.
