At least 28 people were killed when a passenger bus collided head-on with a timber truck and burst into flames on a highway in eastern Tanzania early on Friday, a fire and rescue official said.
The crash occurred at Mkambarani on the Morogoro-Dar es Salaam highway, according to Joseph Mwasabeja, the acting commander of the Morogoro regional fire and rescue force. The bus was travelling from Dar es Salaam to Mbeya when the collision happened, the Associated Press reported.
Twenty-seven of the victims were bus passengers, while the other victim was travelling in the truck, according to Tanzania's The Citizen. Mwasabeja said the truck was heading from Iringa toward Dar es Salaam and was attempting to overtake other vehicles when it collided with the bus.
Rescue hampered by fire
The bus was completely destroyed by the fire that followed the collision, complicating rescue operations. The number of injured is not yet known, though some people were taken to a hospital, Mwasabeja said; local media reported around 30 injured.
Seventeen of the 28 bodies had been identified by gender — 10 men and seven women — while severe burns have made identifying the rest difficult, The Citizen reported. Authorities are considering DNA testing to identify the remaining victims.
Second crash kills four
In a separate accident the same evening in Mvomero District of Morogoro Region, four people — including three police officers — were killed and seven were injured, according to local reports.
Tanzania has seen a series of deadly road crashes. In June 2025, a collision between two buses in the northern Kilimanjaro region killed at least 37 people, after which President Samia Suluhu Hassan urged stricter adherence to road safety rules.
Sources:
Bus collision with truck kills many people in Tanzania (AP via ETV Bharat)
28 dead in Tanzania's fiery bus crash (theupdate.co.rw, citing AP and The Citizen)
The crash occurred at Mkambarani on the Morogoro-Dar es Salaam highway, according to Joseph Mwasabeja, the acting commander of the Morogoro regional fire and rescue force. The bus was travelling from Dar es Salaam to Mbeya when the collision happened, the Associated Press reported.
Twenty-seven of the victims were bus passengers, while the other victim was travelling in the truck, according to Tanzania's The Citizen. Mwasabeja said the truck was heading from Iringa toward Dar es Salaam and was attempting to overtake other vehicles when it collided with the bus.
Rescue hampered by fire
The bus was completely destroyed by the fire that followed the collision, complicating rescue operations. The number of injured is not yet known, though some people were taken to a hospital, Mwasabeja said; local media reported around 30 injured.
Seventeen of the 28 bodies had been identified by gender — 10 men and seven women — while severe burns have made identifying the rest difficult, The Citizen reported. Authorities are considering DNA testing to identify the remaining victims.
Second crash kills four
In a separate accident the same evening in Mvomero District of Morogoro Region, four people — including three police officers — were killed and seven were injured, according to local reports.
Tanzania has seen a series of deadly road crashes. In June 2025, a collision between two buses in the northern Kilimanjaro region killed at least 37 people, after which President Samia Suluhu Hassan urged stricter adherence to road safety rules.
Sources:
Bus collision with truck kills many people in Tanzania (AP via ETV Bharat)
28 dead in Tanzania's fiery bus crash (theupdate.co.rw, citing AP and The Citizen)
