THE Zimbabwe Republic Police have announced that three more people have died while admitted in hospital following Tuesday evening’s accident involving two buses just outside Rusape town. This takes the death toll to 50 after 45 adults and 2 children died on the spot.

The death toll could rise because there are 80 others admitted to hospital, some with serious injuries.

Two long distance buses going opposite directions collided near Rusape, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) east of the capital Harare on Wednesday evening, said police spokesman Paul Nyathi. The death toll could rise because there are 80 others admitted to hospital, some with serious injuries.

One of the buses tried to pass two haulage trucks on a stretch of the road where overtaking is prohibited, resulting in the collision with an oncoming bus, Ellen Gwaradzimba, the provincial minister for Manicaland province, told the state broadcaster.

The buses swerved to avoid a head-on collision but their sides crashed. Both buses were speeding, police told the state broadcaster.

The number of dead bodies have overwhelmed the small town’s morgue, which can only accommodate up to 16 bodies, reported the state-run Herald newspaper.

Bus accidents are frequent in this southern African country, where speeding often means more money for bus crews that compete for customers and try to make as many trips as possible per day.

A woman who survived a bus crash receives treatment in Rusape about 170 kilometres east of the capital Harare, Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. A head-on collision between two buses has killed 47 people, where road accidents are common due to poor roads and bad driving. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)
The road where the accident happened was recently resurfaced as part of government attempts at rehabilitating collapsing road infrastructure.

AFP