2 police officers die from injuries, as death toll from police van-prison bus crash in Namibia rises to 16

LUSAKA, Zambia

Two police officers died of their injuries in a hospital on Sunday, a day after a fatal head-on collision between a police van and a prison bus in Namibia, bringing the total death toll to 16, a minister said, adding that three injured are receiving treatment.

One police officer and one correctional officer died due to their injuries in a Mariental hospital, according to Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety, and Security Minister Lucia Iipumbu.

Fourteen people were killed in a head-on collision between two vehicles on Saturday outside Mariental, a town about 269 kilometers (167 miles) south of Windhoek, Namibia's capital.

According to Iipumbu, 19 people were traveling in the two vehicles, with the police van carrying six passengers, five officers, and a civilian, and the correctional service bus carrying 13 officers.

The minister asked citizens to refrain from sharing distressing images and videos from the accident scene.

"The ministry strongly appeals to members of the public to refrain from circulating distressing and sensitive images and videos taken from the accident scene out of respect for the deceased, the injured, and the families," she said.

Namibia's state-sponsored vehicle insurance scheme will also cover burial costs and medical care for the three remaining survivors, according to local media reports.