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| Tsvangirai's wife dead in crash | |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| The wife of Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has been killed in a car crash in which he was also hurt, party officials say. | |
| Susan Tsvangirai was travelling with her husband south of the capital, Harare, when the crash happened. | Susan Tsvangirai was travelling with her husband south of the capital, Harare, when the crash happened. |
| Mr Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, formed a unity government with President Robert Mugabe last month. | Mr Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, formed a unity government with President Robert Mugabe last month. |
| The two had been long-time rivals before agreeing a power-sharing deal. | The two had been long-time rivals before agreeing a power-sharing deal. |
| MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told Reuters news agency that Mr Tsvangirai, who will turn 57 next week, was not in a critical condition. | |
| "We have just heard that there was an accident of sorts involving the president of the party. Injuries, yes, but not critical condition, we are still assessing the actual condition," he said. | "We have just heard that there was an accident of sorts involving the president of the party. Injuries, yes, but not critical condition, we are still assessing the actual condition," he said. |
| The prime minister is said to have been on his way to his rural home in Buhera, where he planned to hold a weekend rally, when his vehicle was involved in a crash near Beatrice. | |
| A spokesman for Mr Tsvangirai, James Maridadi, told the Associated Press news agency that the car had been in collision with a lorry. The car was also carrying an aide, he said. | |
| The AFP news agency quoted an MDC minister as saying the driver of the lorry had been asleep at the wheel. | |
| The prime minister was apparently not seriously hurt but was immediately transferred to a clinic in the capital, Harare. | |
| The crash comes just two days after Mr Tsvangirai delivered his maiden speech to parliament after being sworn in as prime minister in Zimbabwe's power-sharing government. | |
| He and his wife Susan, who were married in 1978, had six children. | He and his wife Susan, who were married in 1978, had six children. |
| The BBC's Andrew Harding in Johannesburg says that Mrs Tsvangirai was very discreet and stayed out of the limelight, but was a very important part of her husband's life. | |
| She was a great source of strength to her husband, when in the past he was charged with treason and assaulted for his opposition to Mr Mugabe, and sat through all his treason trial, our correspondent says. | |
| She also made a point of visiting MDC members who were jailed while the party was in opposition, he adds. | |
| Her death comes at a very challenging time for the fledgling power-sharing government, our correspondent says, and will only make matters more complicated. | |
| Mr Tsvangirai still relied on his own security teams and used his own convoys when he travelled, he adds, in a sign that he was not entirely comfortable with the security provided by the new government. | |
| There are no dual carriageways on Harare's inter-city roads, making overtaking dangerous, our BBC News website's Africa editor Joseph Winter adds. | |
| Traffic accidents are common, often because of speeding and drink-driving. | Traffic accidents are common, often because of speeding and drink-driving. |