Forty-seven people were killed in Zimbabwe on Wednesday after two buses were involved in a head on collision on a road between the capital Harare and the southeastern town of Rusape, police confirmed to AFP.
“We confirm 47 people have died in a road traffic accident at the 166-km peg along the Harare-Mutare highway,” police spokesman Paul Nyathi said.
On Twitter, the state-run Herald newspaper said pictures from the scene were too graphic to post.
Among the dead 47, 45 are adults while two are children.
Traffic accidents are common in Zimbabwe, where roads are riddled with potholes due to years of underfunding and neglect. The disaster is already Zimbabwe’s second highest death toll from a bus crash since the Nyanga Bus Disaster of August 1991 that killed 89 people.
Steps will be taken by the government to curb the road carnage, Deputy transport minister, Fortune Chasi, said.
“Totally needless loss of lives. This event should be the last before stern measures are taken,” he tweeted, promising to rein in public service vehicles and their owners.
> Shiuly Rina
At least 47 Die in Horror Bus Crash in Zimbabwe
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