18 burnt to death in yet another road smash

Morogoro. Eighteen people died and ten others sustained serious injuries yesterday in yet another horror crash as the blood-letting on Tanzanian roads continues unabated. A bus travelling to Mbeya City from Kilombero District collided head-on with a Mitsubishi Fuso truck and burst into flames in the latest accident in a series of road smashes stretching from January this year. Dozens of passengers escaped with their lives through the windows.

In a separate accident yesterday, some 50 passengers escaped death narrowly when a bus their bus got involved in a head-on smash with a fuel tanker in Soni in Tanga. The Burudani Bus was hit by the tanker whose tailer had disengaged. Reports said no one died but scores of the passengers were rushed to hospital over minor injuries and shock. 

The black months since the year began have seen hundreds of Tanzanians  lose their lives in back to back accidents that forced the government to intervene, introducing speed limits and mandatory testing for all drivers in a bid to curb road carnage.

But on Friday the government was forced to shelve the measures following a countrywide drivers strike that paralysed public transport. The continued road mishaps will thus be a challenge to both the state and the PSV operators. On average, Tanzanian roads claim some 4,000 lives every year.  

Yesterday’s accident in Morogoro occured at about 8am at Iyofi, a blackspot between Morogoro and Iringa regions. Most of the victims were burnt beyond recognition. Their charred remains lay on the roadside for hours before being removed later in the day.

Morogoro Regional Police Commander, Mr Leonard Paul, confirmed the accident when he spoke to The Citizen on  the phone from the scene of accident. He said 15 of those who died were in the bus and three were in the truck. Mr Paul said the accident involved a bus christened ‘Nganga Express’ which was heading to Mbeya from Kilombero in Morogoro while the Fuso truck was coming from the opposite direction.

According to the police chief, the collision happened after the driver of the bus lost control and and the vehicle hurtled towards the oncoming lorry. “The vehicles were immediately engulfed in a ball of fire that started soon after,” said Mr Paul, adding that investigations were ongoing to establish the cause of the fire. He opined that a motorcycle carried in the booth of the bus might have been the cause of the explosion.