One person (male) has died while 20 others sustained minor injuries after a passenger bus with registration plate number RAD 249K heading to Rusizi town from Kigali slipped off the road and overturned on Friday morning, police confirmed.

The vehicle belongs to Rwanda Inter-Link Transport Company (RITCO).

The accident occurred at 7 am in an area called Shagasha, in Giheke Sector of Rusizi District.

Most of the injured were rushed to Gihundwe Hospital where they received treatment and later discharged. Only five are still admitted. .

Police said they were still investigating the real cause of the accident.

Jean Marie Vianney Ndushabandi, the Spokesperson for traffic and road safety department at Rwanda National Police told The New Times that they suspected fatigue to have caused lack of focus for the driver.

"What we think might have resulted in the incident, though we have not yet gotten proof, is tiredness because the car left Kigali at 2am. One can assume that the driver might have fallen asleep, as well as lack of regulation of speed based on the state of the road,” he said.