A passenger bus collided with a timber truck and burst into flames in eastern Tanzania early Friday, killing at least 28 people, a fire and rescue official said.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan has offered her condolences to the families of victims and urged stricter adherence to road safety rules.

The crash occurred at Mkambarani on the Morogoro-Dar es Salaam highway as the bus traveled from Dar es Salaam to Mbeya, said Joseph Mwasabeja, acting commander of the Morogoro regional fire and rescue force.

The truck was heading from Iringa toward Dar es Salaam and attempting to overtake other vehicles when it collided with the bus, Mwasabeja said at the scene.

The bus was destroyed by fire. The number of injured was not yet known, though some had been taken to a hospital, he said.

Scholastica Ndunga, a spokeswoman for Morogoro Regional Referral Hospital, said it would release figures later for the dead and injured brought there.

In June 2025, a collision between two buses in Tanzania’s northern Kilimanjaro region killed at least 37 people. Both vehicles caught fire.