At least thirty passengers have reportedly been burnt to death on Wednesday night when a South Africa-bound Proliner bus sideswiped a haulage truck and caught fire in Masvingo, Zimbabwe.
According to local media reports, the bus had over 60 passengers on board, and thirty of them were burnt beyond recognition when tragedy struck at Nyamatikiti River.
Survivors reportedly managed to escape through the windows. The injured are admitted at Mvuma District Hospital and Driefontein Mission Hospital nursing various injuries.
The accident comes hardly a month after 14 people died on the spot along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge highway when a South African registered haulage truck hit a pothole and jackknifed into an oncoming commuter omnibus.
Transport minister Joram Gumbo recently admitted Zimbabwe’s roads were “death traps” with knee deep potholes.
Gumbo says the country needs US$5 billion to repair the badly damaged roads, but former Finance minister, Tendai Biti estimates US$14 billion is required for the exercise.
Statistics released by the police last year indicate that Zimbabwe’s roads have become death traps with an average of 2 000 people dying each year on the roads.
