Four tourists killed in Arusha road smash

Arusha/Coast. Four tourists from Spain and Italy and their cook died in Arusha Region on Sunday when the vehicle they were travelling in collided with a lorry.

Monduli District Commissioner Iddi Kimanta confirmed that the accident took place in Nanja, Monduli District.

“I’m at the scene of the accident. We have already sent the victims’ bodies to Mount Meru Hospital in Arusha. The vehicle that was carrying the tourists has been reduced to a mangled wreckage…it’s a very serious accident,” he said.

He said the tourist vehicle involved in the accident belongs to Tabia Tours Limited, adding that Arusha Regional Police Commander Ramadhani Ng’azi had gone to the accident scene and investigations seeking to establish the cause of the crash were underway.

Elsewhere, passengers travelling between Dar es Salaam and the northern regions of Arusha, Kilimanjaro and Tanga were held up for several hours on Sunday after Wami Bridge in Bagamoyo District was blocked following a collision involving a bus and a lorry.

Coast Regional Police Commandet Wankyo Nyigesa told The Citizen that a preliminary investigation has established that the accident occurred after the bus’ brakes failed.  He said a number of passengers had been injured, some seriously.