Image copyright Reuters Image caption The bus was completely destroyed in the fire

At least 42 people are confirmed to have died in a fire aboard a bus in Zimbabwe late on Thursday.

The bus was near travelling near Beitbridge, close to the border with South Africa, when the blaze began.

The company that owned the vehicle, Brooklyn Buses, said it believed that a gas canister brought on board by a passenger may have caused the incident.

Many of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition and more than 20 survivors have been taken to hospital.

The driver, who survived the fire, said that he pulled over to the side of the road after detecting a "strange smell", a police spokeswoman told AFP news agency. When he turned on the lights to investigate, the bus burst into flames, she added.

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he was "devastated" to hear of the incident, which comes a week after 47 people were killed in a bus collision in the east of the country.

He urged drivers to take extra care while on the roads.</s>Zimbabwe's president offered condolences Friday to the families of the 42 people killed when a bus burst into flames in the southwestern city of Gwanda.

Thirty other people were injured in the tragedy, which occurred Thursday night as the bus was traveling down the Bulawayo Highway in the direction of South Africa.</s>HARARE - At least 42 people have been burnt to death and another 27 injured in Zimbabwe after a passenger bus caught fire in the south of the country.

The bus was travelling to South Africa on Thursday night when it went up in flames.

The blaze is believed have been sparked by a leaking gas cylinder.

The details of this accident are still just emerging.

State media is reporting that the accident occurred around 11pm yesterday.

A leaking gas cylinder brought aboard the Brooklyn Express bus by one of the passengers is thought to have started the fire which then engulfed the vehicle.

The news of his latest tragedy comes just eight days after two buses collided in the east of the country, killing 50 people.</s>At least 42 bus passengers died close to midnight of Thursday, October 15, in southern Zimbabwe. Local police said the incident happened after a passenger’s gas cylinder exploded for an unknown reason.

“At the moment, we know that more than 42 people have died,” police spokesman Charity Charamba told AFP.

Those who survived are said to be battling with serious burns. Photos shared on social media show the entire bus engulfed in a blaze. It has been reduced to rubble.

This is the latest in a string of bus accidents to rock the southern African country. The most recent being a bus collision that claimed scores earlier this month.

The November 7 incident claimed forty-seven people lives according to police records. Forty five of the victims were adults whilst two children were also killed.

They died on the spot when two buses collided in the town of Rusape in the country’s northeastern Manicaland Province. The crash involved passenger buses – Smart Express and Bolt Cutter, report said.

According to the state broadcaster, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, ZBC, report; scores others were injured in the crash that happened close to a tollgate.

President Mnangagwa issued a statement commiserating with those that lost loved ones and with those injured. He stressed that such incidents were one too many and needed to be checked.</s>HARARE (AFP) - At least 42 passengers have been confirmed dead, Zimbabwe police said on Friday (Nov 16), after a suspected gas tank exploded on a bus, with pictures showing the burnt-out wreckage of the vehicle.

"At the moment we know that more than 42 people died," police spokesman Charity Charamba told AFP after the accident late on Thursday, with state media reporting a gas tank belonging to a passenger was believed to have exploded.

"Our police officers are at the scene," Charamba added.

The state-owned Herald newspaper said on its Twitter feed that "it is suspected a gas tank belonging to one of the passengers caused the inferno in the bus".

"Dozens have been confirmed dead and several others injured through burns."

The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation published photographs showing the destroyed vehicle on a highway from the South African border crossing to the second city Bulawayo.

Last week, 47 people were killed when two buses collided on a road between the capital Harare and the eastern town of Rusape.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa said road safety had to be improved after that crash.

Traffic accidents are common in Zimbabwe, where roads are riddled with potholes due to years of underfunding and neglect, and driving standards can be poor.

In June last year, 43 people were killed in a bus crash in the north, along the highway leading to neighbouring Zambia.</s>At least 42 bus passengers died in the night from Thursday to Friday in southern Zimbabwe, local police said after a passenger-owned gas cylinder exploded for an unknown reason.

National television, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, ZBC, has released photos showing the vehicle’s carcass on a road that connects the South African border with Bulawayo, the country’s second largest city.

Last week, 47 people died in a collision between two buses on a road between the capital Harare and the city of Rusape in the east.</s>Police say a bus accident in Zimbabwe has killed more than 40 people and injured at least 20, some with severe burns

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Police say a bus accident in Zimbabwe has killed more than 40 people and injured at least 20, some with severe burns.</s>HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Police say a bus accident in Zimbabwe has killed more than 40 people and injured at least 20, some with severe burns.</s>Fire swept through a passenger bus in Zimbabwe, killing more than 40 people and injuring at least 20, some of whom suffered severe burns, authorities said Friday.

A photograph posted on Twitter by the Zimbabwe Red Cross shows the remains of the bus that was completely incinerated late Thursday. The Red Cross said its teams responded to a "horrific accident" involving a bus heading to neighboring South Africa at around midnight.

"Combustible material was allowed onto the bus, thus causing a conflagration which entrapped, scalded and consumed innocent passengers," President Emmerson Mnangagwa said in a condolence message.

Mnangagwa said the government should "take appropriate measures which comprehensively deal with this growing menace on our roads."

The accident happened in Gwanda district, about 550 kilometers (340 miles) south of Harare, Zimbabwe's capital.

Police spokeswoman Charity Charamba confirmed a death toll of more than 40.

Last week, a collision between two buses in Zimbabwe killed 50 people and injured about 80.</s>At least 42 passengers were killed, Zimbabwe police said Friday, after a suspected gas cylinder exploded on a bus, with pictures showing the burnt-out wreckage of the vehicle.

"At the moment we know that more than 42 people died," police spokeswoman Charity Charamba told AFP after the accident late on Thursday, with state media reporting that a cooking gas cylinder belonging to a passenger was believed to have exploded igniting a fire.

"Our police officers are at the scene," Charamba added.

The state-owned Herald newspaper said on its Twitter feed that "it is suspected a gas tank belonging to one of the passengers caused the inferno in the bus.

"Dozens have been confirmed dead and several others injured through burns."

The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation published photographs showing the destroyed vehicle on a highway between the South African border and the second city Bulawayo.

ZBC reported that injured survivors being treated at Gwanda town hospital alleged that a gas smell engulfed the bus after dark before the conductor switched on the lights and the bus caught fire.

It said about 30 people were injured, adding the vehicle was travelling from Zvishavane to the Beitbridge crossing via the town of Filabusi when the explosion happened.

Last week, 50 people were killed when two buses collided on a road between the capital Harare and the eastern town of Rusape.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa said road safety had to be improved after that crash.

Traffic accidents are common in Zimbabwe, where roads are riddled with potholes due to years of underfunding and neglect, and driving standards can be poor.

In June last year, 43 people were killed in a bus crash in the north, along the highway leading to neighbouring Zambia.
At least 42 people have died while more than 20 others are injured in a deadly fire aboard a bus in Zimbabwe.