11 dead as speeding truck hits tourist minibus

A speeding truck hit three donkeys and rammed into an oncoming tourist vehicle in northern Tanzania, killing 11 people from New Zealand, Spain and Tanzania, police said today.

Four other people were seriously injured, including some with broken limbs and bruises, said regional police chief James Kombe.

Kombe said police were not sure how many of the victims were from New Zealand and Spain, saying authorities were still trying to identify some bodies.

Police are still trying to identify three of the dead tourists, whose bodies now lie in the mortuary of the Mount Meru Hospital, in Arusha, Kombe said.

“We are also in contact with embassies to make transport arrangements for the victims to their home countries,” Kombe said.

The accident occurred as the tourists were driving into Tanzania from neighbouring Kenya to visit some of Tanzania’s national parks, Kombe said.

“It was a head-on collision. Eight people were killed on the spot and two others died in hospital,” Kombe said. Another victim died overnight.

The accident occurred after a speeding truck, laden with farm produce, hit three donkeys.

“The driver struggled to regain control of the truck and slammed into the vehicle ferrying the tourists from the border with Kenya,” Kombe said.