Twelve die in Mozambique minibus accident

A minibus crash in Mozambique killed 12 people and injured 16, officials said today.

The accident happened yesterday when a minibus loaded with passengers overturned in the northern province of Niassa, the Mozambique News Agency (AIM) reported.

According to witnesses, the vehicle was travelling at a high speed when the accident happened.

The governor of Niassa, Arnaldo Bimbe, said the injured, some of whom were seriously hurt, were being treated at the provincial hospital. The bodies of eight of the victims were taken to the town of Metangula, where they were from, and were buried.

The other four bodies were transported to the provincial capital, Lichinga, waiting for relatives to claim them, he said.

Niassa is one of the more remote regions of the southern African country, which was severely affected by the civil war that ended in 1992.