DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed and 54 others were injured following a head-on collision between a bus and a truck early Saturday morning in Tanzania's northern region of Shinyanga, according to the police.

Leonard Nyandahu, the Shinyanga regional police commander, said the collision occurred at 2 a.m. local time when the bus heading to the commercial capital Dar es Salaam from the Mwanza region on the shores of Lake Victoria collided with the truck.

Nyandahu told a news conference that the truck was ferrying sardines from the Mwanza region to Dar es Salaam.

He said preliminary investigations have shown that the driver of the bus was at high speed and ignored requests from passengers who asked him to slow down.

Luzila John, the Shinyanga regional medical officer, said the 54 injured passengers were receiving treatment and described their conditions as stable. - Xinhua