Harare, Nov 8: Forty-seven people were killed in Zimbabwe when two buses collided on a road between the capital Harare and the eastern town of Rusape, police said.
"We confirm 47 people have died in a road traffic accident at the 166-kilometre peg along the Harare-Mutare highway," police spokesman Paul Nyathi said on Wednesday.
On Twitter, the state-run Herald newspaper said pictures from the scene were too graphic to post. It said the morgue at the local public hospital in Rusape had run out of space and sought help from a private funeral parlour to take in some of the corpses.
Traffic accidents are common in Zimbabwe, where roads are riddled with potholes due to years of underfunding and neglect, but the highway where the accident occurred had been recently resurfaced.
In June last year, 43 people were killed in a bus crash in the north of the country, along the highway leading to neighbouring Zambia.
Deputy Transport Minister Fortune Chasi said the government will take steps to curb the road carnage.
"Totally needless loss of lives. This event should be the last before stern measures are taken," he tweeted, promising to rein in public service vehicles and their owners.
#RusapeAccidentUpdate
— The Herald Zimbabwe (@HeraldZimbabwe) November 7, 2018
Police have confirmed the death of 47 people, 45 of which are adults and 2 children. The pictures are too graphic and have been censored
More details to follow@caesarzvayi @Michellehakata @HChikwanha @TafadzwaMugwadi @manoc9 @ChronicleZim
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Bhadohi (PTI): Like lakhs of people who thronged Prayagraj on Sunday to have a holy dip at the Sangam during the Maha Kumbh, 22-year-old Pravesh Yadav too arrived in the city to take part in the ritual bathing that many believe washes off one's sins.
However, destiny had other plans for Yadav, who was allegedly involved in liquor smuggling and had evaded arrest since July 2023, as he was apprehended by cops in the Civil Lines area of Prayagraj owing to strong police surveillance, a police official said on Sunday.
Elaborating further about the arrest, Superintendent of Police of Bhadohi Abhimanyu Manglik said that Pravesh Yadav is a resident of Alwar district of Rajasthan and was absconding for one-and-half years.
Mangalik said during the checking of vehicles on National Highway-19 on July 29, 2023, adulterated liquor meant for smuggling from Alwar to Bihar was recovered and Pradeep Yadav and Raj Domoliya were arrested from the Unj police station area in Bhadohi. However, Pravesh Yadav escaped from the spot. All are residents of Alwar district and were involved in smuggling illegal liquor in Bihar for a long time., he alleged.
A case was registered against them under sections 419 (Punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (Using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 272 (Adulteration of food or drink intended for sale), 273 (Sale of noxious food or drink) and 207 (Fraudulent claim to property to prevent its seizure as forfeited or in execution) of the IPC, Excise Act and Gangster Act, police said.
The officer said that Yadav reached Prayagraj to take a holy dip but was arrested by police due to effective surveillance.