12 passengers die in bus crash in Tanzania, 71 injured


At least 12 people died and 71 were injured yesterday when the bus they were travelling in overturned after the driver lost control.

The accident occured at Taule area in Handeni district on the Segera- Chalinze road.

Tanga Regional Police Commander Constantine Massawe confirmed the accident and said the bus belonged to Burudani Bus Company and had registration numbers T 610 ATR.

It was coming from Korogwe and headed to Dar es Salaam when the accident occurred at around 7am, he said.

According to Massawe, the driver of the bus, Luta Mpenda (35) is among the 12 people believed to have died.

“The injured passengers were rushed to Magunga hospital, and their condition is very critical. Bodies of the deceased were preserved at the same hospital,” said RPC Massawe.


Massawe said the cause of the accident is speeding. He said the driver lost control of the bus as he negotiated a corner.

One of the injured passengers, Francis Bendera, speaking with difficulty from his hospital bed, told The Guardian that the bus driver was trying to avoid a head-on collision with a lorry (Fuso type).

Following the accident, President Jakaya Kikwete has sent a message of condolence to the Tanga Regional Commissioner and families of the deceased.

“I have been saddened by information on the death of 12 people and 71 others who were injured after Burudani bus …capsized at Taule area,” said the President in a statement to the Tanga Regional Commissioner yesterday.

The President described the death of 12 passengers as a major setback not only to their families but also to the nation at large.

Source The Guardian

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