Authorities say at least 9 dead, 25 hurt after a train and bus collide in Zimbabwe

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HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A freight train struck a bus at a level crossing in Zimbabwe on Tuesday, killing at least nine people including two children, police and rail authorities said.

The crash occurred at a railway crossing in Triangle, a sugar-producing town in the country's south, according to police.

National Railways of Zimbabwe spokesperson Andrew Kanambura said in a statement the bus driver failed to stop and check for oncoming trains before crossing the tracks, violating railway safety regulations. He said at least 25 others were hurt and taken to the hospital.

Photos posted by local media showed the bus crumpled beside the railway tracks with part of its side sheered off. Twisted fragments of metal and shattered debris were strewn on the ground.

The crash happened less than a week after a minibus carrying schoolchildren caught fire in central Zimbabwe, killing seven. Last month, 10 people were killed in a collision between a bus and a haulage truck.

Road crashes are common in Zimbabwe, where a traffic accident occurs every 15 minutes and an average of five people are killed and 38 injured each day, according to the country’s road safety agency. Authorities say human error accounts for 94% of road accidents in the southern African nation.

Africa has the world’s highest road traffic fatality rate despite accounting for only about 3% of the global vehicle population, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, with buses and other public transport vehicles frequently involved in major crashes.

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