DAR ES SALAAM, March 19 (Xinhua) -- At least 22 people were killed and 38 others injured Friday after a bus collided head-on with a truck in Tanzania's eastern region of Morogoro, police said Saturday.
Fortunatus Musilimu, the Morogoro regional police commander, said 13 of the victims died on the spot and nine died while they were receiving treatment at the Morogoro regional hospital.
The tragedy occurred after the driver of the truck attempted to overtake a motorcycle and collided head-on with the oncoming bus, said Musilimu, noting more deaths could occur as some of the injured persons are in critical condition.
According to the police official, the truck was heading to the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam while the bus was heading to Tanga city from Mbeya city.
Musilimu said the accident occurred at 4:30 p.m., local time, Friday at Melela Kibaoni village.
Meanwhile, President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Saturday sent a condolence message to the bereaved families, saying the accident has caused losses of lives of innocent citizens.
A statement by the Directorate of Presidential Communications said President Hassan directed the traffic police to reinforce efforts aimed at curbing road accidents in the country. ■