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HARARE, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Thirteen people died and four others were seriously injured Wednesday night when a commuter omnibus they were travelling in collided head-on with a South African registered haulage truck in a highway in southwest Zimbabwe, Police confirmed in a statement Thursday.
The statement said 13 people in the minibus died on the spot. The minibus was traveling to Masvingo in southern Zimbabwe with the mourners and a corpse.
"On approaching the said spot, the haulage truck hit a pothole and the driver lost control of the vehicle. He then encroached onto the lane of the oncoming vehicle, resulting in a head on collision with the commuter omnibus," police spokesperson Charity Charamba was quoted as saying by state broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.
The police appealed to motorists to avoid travelling at night and to observe speed limits.
Most of Zimbabwe's roads are in a deplorable state due to years of neglect. The heavy rains pounding the country since January have also worsened the condition of the roads, with many now littered with potholes.
Government last month declared the capital Harare's roads a state of disaster and said it is seeking 100 million U.S. dollars for emergency road repairs after floods damaged bridges and some of the roads particularly in the southern part of the country. Enditem
