18 members of a Christian sect die as bus plunges off mountain highway in eastern Zimbabwe

Harare, Zimbabwe - State radio says 18 people died and another 28 were seriously injured after a bus plunged from a mountain road in eastern Zimbabwe and slammed into an embankment of rock.

State radio reported Monday the passengers were all members of a Christian Apostolic sect traveling to a traditional Passover service of worship on Sunday in the Nyanga district, about 160 miles (250 kilometers) northeast of Harare.

It said several of the injured were in a critical condition. The 26-seater carrying 46 passengers veered off the highway at the same “black spot” where 89 people died in 1991, one of the worst crashes on record.

Bus crashes are common in Zimbabwe and are blamed on overcrowding of vehicles, speeding, poor maintenance and shortages of replacement tires.