Harare: At least 30 people died and 36 were injured when two buses collided on the main road between Zimbabwe’s capital Harare and Bulawayo in the southwest, police said on Friday.

‘I can confirm there was a horrific road accident yesterday involving a conventional bus and a minibus,’ said police spokeswomen Charity Charamba.

‘Twenty-eight people including both drivers died on the spot and two others on admission at Kwekwe hospital. Of the injured, 32 are said to be in critical condition.’

Charamba said the accident happened when one of the buses had a tyre burst and veered onto the opposite side of the road.

‘From the look of things one or both drivers of the vehicles was speeding,’ she said.

The accident came days after five people were killed in another collision resulting from a burst tyre.

Road accidents are common in Zimbabwe, where highways are riddled with potholes due to years of neglect.