Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

Zimbabwe bus and train collision kills 34
06 Mar 2007 12:47:02 GMT
Source: Reuters
(updates throughout)

By Nelson Banya

HARARE, March 6 (Reuters) - At least 34 people died in Zimbabwe's capital Harare on Tuesday when a commuter bus crashed into a cargo train at a rail crossing, police said.

Several other people were injured in the accident, which left bloodied and disfigured bodies strewn around a large swamp.

The bus, travelling from Harare's western Dzivarasekwa township to Mbare district in the south, was overloaded and its passengers included women vendors on their way to the city's main vegetable market to buy supplies, said a police spokesman.

"I saw the bus, and it appeared to be speeding and it couldn't stop as the train approached," said a witness.

The police -- who have recently been running a road safety awareness campaign after a recent spate of deadly accidents -- said they were investigating the crash, the worst in the country in six months.

A severe economic crisis, which many government critics blame on President Robert Mugabe's policies, has pushed inflation to about 1,600 percent -- the highest rate in the world -- and left many struggling to survive.

The rapidly rising cost of living has left many people unable to keep their vehicles in good condition, and experts say this has compromised safety on the roads.


AlertNet news is provided by

Email this article       Send comments

Countries

Small country map
© 2004 Europa Technologies Ltd.
Reset map

•  South Africa profile
· View map

•  Zimbabwe profile
· View map

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  AJWS Grantees Featured at United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
AJWS - USA

•  MSF study shows good outcomes for second-line AIDS treatment in resource-poor settings
MSF International

•  Zimbabwe partner office shut down by ZANU PF militia
Christian Aid - UK

•  The Road Less Travelled
GOAL - Ireland

•  The UMCOR Hotline
UMCOR - USA

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Zimbabwe bus and train collision kills 34

•  Zimbabwe bus accident kills 27, injures others

•  FEATURE-African AIDS victims fret over India patent case

•  FEATURE-Ghana's Nkrumah set trend for big Africa leaders

•  CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA: IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 372 for 24 Feb to 2 March 2007

MORE >>

Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Tue Mar 6 12:47:57 2007