Fire swept through a passenger bus in Zimbabwe, killing more than 40 people and injuring at least 20, some of whom suffered severe burns, authorities said Friday.
A photograph posted on Twitter by the Zimbabwe Red Cross shows the remains of the bus that was completely incinerated late Thursday. The Red Cross said its teams responded to a “horrific accident” involving a bus heading to neighboring South Africa at around midnight.
“Combustible material was allowed onto the bus, thus causing a conflagration which entrapped, scalded and consumed innocent passengers,” President Emmerson Mnangagwa said in a condolence message.
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Mnangagwa said the government should “take appropriate measures which comprehensively deal with this growing menace on our roads.”
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The accident happened in Gwanda district, about 550 kilometers south of Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital.
Police spokeswoman Charity Charamba confirmed a death toll of more than 40.
Last week, a collision between two buses in Zimbabwe killed 50 people and injured about 80.
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