Collision between bus and truck in Zimbabwe kills 24, injures over 30

A head-on collision between a passenger bus and a truck in Zimbabwe has left at least 24 dead and more than 30 injured, according to officials and local media.

An Urban Connect bus carrying 65 passengers collided head-on with an Auro Transport haulage truck carrying four occupants at around 8 a.m. on Thursday, according to Zimbabwe Police. The accident occurred at the 262 km peg along Masvingo-Beitbridge Road near Lutumba Toll Gate.

Zimbabwe Police confirmed that 24 people were killed in the crash. More than 30 others were transported to hospitals, with at least a dozen in critical condition, according to The Herald Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a national disaster following the collision and announced that the victims would receive State-assisted burials.

“Fellow Zimbabweans, our nation does not deserve this at all, let alone experiencing such a bloody incident at the beginning of the year. We have to do all that is possible to curb this unjustified loss of life,” said Mnangagwa. “I therefore appeal to all motorists to exercise extreme caution on our roads, for the sake of both fellow road users and themselves.”

The accident comes just days after a bus crash in Guatemala left 54 people dead when a passenger bus lost control and plunged off a bridge in Guatemala City. Guatemala declared three days of national mourning following the tragedy.