ARUSHA, Tanzania — Forty-three Ethiopians and Somalis who paid to be smuggled from their homelands in search of better living conditions died in the back of a crowded, suffocating truck, an official said Wednesday.
Deputy Home Affairs Minister Pereira Silima said Wednesday that it was sad so many people died from the illegal smuggling scheme.
Tanzania’s state television said the dead bodies were thrown off the truck and dumped in the bush after the driver of the truck realized Tuesday that some of the people he was smuggling had died. Some 70 people in the truck survived and are receiving medical treatment and being questioned by police.
Tanzania lies on a smuggling route that Africans use to travel to South Africa, where there are more economic opportunities.
Area residents were the first to report the deaths because of a foul smell. The deceased have been taken to the hospital in Dodoma, Tanzania’s new capital city.
Front Section, Pages 5 on 06/28/2012