Twenty-six people died while 53 were seriously injured during road traffic accidents that occurred during the long weekend in Zambia, the police said on Thursday, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
The accidents occurred between Saturday, June 29 to July 2 during the Heroes and Unity holidays.
Esther Mwaata-Katongo, Zambia police Spokesperson, said 274 road traffic accidents were recorded during the long week out of which 23 were fatal and resulted in 26 people dying.
She however said there was a slight reduction in the number of accidents and fatalities compared to the same period last year when 300 road traffic accidents were recorded which resulted in 27 deaths while 113 people were seriously injured.
"The reduction in traffic accidents is attributed to preventive measures put in place by the Zambia Police Service working in collaboration with other stakeholders," she said.
Lusaka, the country's capital recorded the highest number of road traffic accidents with 114 and seven deaths followed by CENTRAL Province which recorded 48 accidents while the Copperbelt Province recorded 23 accidents.