More than 20 others were injured in incident in Gwanda district

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

More than 40 people have been killed after a bus burst into flames in south-west Zimbabwe.

At least 20 others were injured, many with severe burns, after the incident on Thursday night, a police spokeswoman, Charity Charamba, said.

Photos posted on Twitter by the Zimbabwe Red Cross show the remains of an incinerated bus.

Stambuli (@kimstambuli1) Zim Red Cross first aid teams respond to horrific accident around midnight involving a South African bound bus. 24 people ferried to Hospital.# of deaths tbc as the bodies were burnt beyond recognition @ZrcsRed @takemorem1 @IFRCAfrica @ICRC_SAfrica pic.twitter.com/3IZRVt3PKp

The incident happened in Gwanda district, Matabeleland South, about 340 miles (550km) south of Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital. State media reported the fire may have erupted when a gas tank belonging to a passenger exploded.

“At the moment, we know that more than 42 people died,” Charamba told Agence France-Presse. “Our police officers are at the scene.”

The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation published images of the destroyed vehicle on a highway from the South African border crossing to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city.

Last week, 47 people were killed when two buses collided on a road between Harare and the eastern town of Rusape. The president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has since called for road safety to be improved.

Traffic accidents are common in Zimbabwe, where roads are riddled with potholes due to years of underfunding and neglect, and driving standards can be poor.

In June last year, 43 people were killed in a bus crash in the north, on a highway leading to Zambia.