DAR ES SALAAM: At least 28 people were killed when a passenger bus collided with a timber-laden truck and burst into flames on a highway in eastern Tanzania early on Friday, officials said.
The accident occurred at Mkambarani along the Morogoro–Dar es Salaam highway as the bus travelled from Dar es Salaam to Mbeya. Joseph Mwasabeja, acting commander of the Morogoro regional fire and rescue force, said the truck was heading from Iringa toward Dar es Salaam and was attempting to overtake other vehicles when it struck the bus head-on.
The bus was completely destroyed by the fire that followed the collision. Of the dead, 27 were passengers on the bus and one was travelling in the truck, according to initial accounts from the scene.
The number of injured was not immediately confirmed, though some survivors were taken to the Morogoro Regional Referral Hospital. Hospital spokeswoman Scholastica Ndunga said the facility would later release official figures for the dead and injured received there. Local reports indicated that rescue teams recovered around 29 bodies and transported about 30 injured people for treatment.
Police said the truck driver had attempted to overtake in an area where such manoeuvres were prohibited. Authorities are investigating the exact circumstances.
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The crash is the latest in a series of deadly road accidents in Tanzania. In June 2025, a collision between two buses in the northern Kilimanjaro region killed at least 37 people after both vehicles caught fire. President Samia Suluhu Hassan had then called for stricter adherence to road safety rules.
Africa records the world’s highest road death rate at about 26 deaths per 100,000 people, compared to a global average of around 18, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
