Collected photo

WINDHOEK, Aug 31, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A police vehicle collided with a 
correctional services van in southern Namibia, killing 16 people, security 
officials said on Sunday.

The crash occurred on a motorway on Saturday morning near the town of 
Mariental, some 270 kilometres (168 miles) south of the capital Windhoek, the 
ministry of home affairs, immigration, safety and security said.

Images from the scene published by the media showed the mangled wreckage of 
the overturned vehicles, with bodies scattered across the tarmac and along 
the roadside.

Most victims were officials but at least two were civilians, authorities 
said.

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah expressed her condolences to the families, 
saying "no words can truly capture the depth of this loss".

The officers and civilian victims "were part of our Namibian family, and 
their passing leaves a void that will not be easily filled," the presidency 
said in a statement.

Road accidents are common in the sparsely-populated southern African nation, 
and are one of the leading causes of death, according to official data.

More than 400 people were killed in road accidents in the 2023-2024 financial 
year, according to Namibia's Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, a government-backed 
scheme providing health care, rehabilitation, and social support to road 
crash victims.