FOUR people have died and 15 injured after a passenger bus veered off the road and overturned in Mailikumi area in Korogwe District, Tanga Region yesterday.

Almachius Mchunguz, the regional police commander, said at a briefing that the accident occurred an hour after midnight when  a Capricorn Co. bus T605 DJR driven by Julius Mushi, 43, a resident of Arusha veered off the road.

The bus was travelling from Dar es Salaam to Arusha, where three men and one woman lost their lives. The survivors are receiving treatment at Magunga District Hospital, with several referred to Bombo Regional Hospital in the city.

The RPC urged drivers to exercise caution and adhere to traffic laws to prevent fatalities and injuries, as neglecting road safety requirements can lead to avoidable accidents.

“Safe driving is essential at all times especially on busy roads,” he said, while Vasco Lucas, acting medical officer in-charge at Magunga hospital in Korogwe said they received 34 injured passengers.

They were 19 men, 14 women and two boys, sustaining injuries in various parts of their bodies, elaborating that six of the injured were referred to Bombo hospital.

The hospital has also received four bodies now preserved at the mortuary, he said, noting that some of the injured had been treated and discharged.

Global health agencies say that 80 percent of accidents are caused by reckless drivers, 12 percent relate to mechanical problems of the vehicles, six percent due to weather unpredictability and only two percent fatal crashes arise from poor infrastructure.

The Global Status Report on road safety 2023 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that road traffic injuries are the leading killers of people aged 5-29 years.