At least ten Tanzanian army reservists were killed on Thursday when their overcrowded and dilapidated bus overturned in the south of the country, police and witnesses said.

The army had rented the bus to transport 210 reservists to a training camp when it crashed in Igodima in Mbeya region.

Regional police commander Mussa Taibu blamed the accident on both speeding and the run-down state of the bus.
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“We regret that for now ten of the 210 people on board have died, the 200 others were wounded,” the commander said.

“The bus is really in a bad state, it should not have been rented.”

Tanzanian President John Magufuli expressed “deep sadness” at the deaths and put the toll at 13: 11 reservists, one soldier from the Tanzanian People’s Defence Forces and the bus driver.

A local resident who saw the aftermath of the crash said: “This is the type of bus we see often on the roads in Tanzania, it has a capacity to transport 80 to 85 people.”
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