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| Zimbabwe PM's wife dies in crash | Zimbabwe PM's wife dies in crash |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The wife of Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has been killed in a car crash in which he was also slightly hurt, party officials say. | The wife of Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has been killed in a car crash in which he was also slightly hurt, party officials say. |
| Susan Tsvangirai was travelling with her husband south of Harare when their vehicle was in collision with a lorry. | |
| 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. |
| Mr Mugabe has reportedly visited his former long-term rival in hospital. | Mr Mugabe has reportedly visited his former long-term rival in hospital. |
| Zimbabwean journalist Brian Hungwe told the BBC that both the president and his wife Grace had gone to the clinic in Harare where Mr Tsvangirai is being treated. | Zimbabwean journalist Brian Hungwe told the BBC that both the president and his wife Grace had gone to the clinic in Harare where Mr Tsvangirai is being treated. |
| Hungwe said he had been told that Mr Tsvangirai, who will turn 57 next week, was in a stable condition but in a state of shock. | Hungwe said he had been told that Mr Tsvangirai, who will turn 57 next week, was in a stable condition but in a state of shock. |
| A spokesman for Mr Tsvangirai, James Maridadi, told reporters outside the hospital: "I saw him. I spoke to him. He walked from the vehicle that brought him to hospital, he is fine." | |
| State television reported that the prime minister had suffered some injuries to his head and neck. | |
| The report quoted police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena as saying that a lorry carrying freight had crossed into the lane in which Mr Tsvangirai's 4x4 was travelling and had side-swiped his vehicle, causing it to roll over three times. | |
| The prime minister was on his way to his rural home in Buhera, where he planned to hold a weekend rally, when the crash occurred near Beatrice at about 1600 local time (1400 GMT). | |
| The AFP quoted an MDC minister as saying the driver of the lorry had been asleep at the wheel. | The AFP quoted an MDC minister as saying the driver of the lorry had been asleep at the wheel. |
| There are no dual carriageways on Harare's inter-city roads, making overtaking dangerous, the BBC News website's Africa editor Joseph Winter says. | |
| Traffic accidents are common, he adds, often because of speeding and drink-driving. | |
| 'Source of strength' | 'Source of strength' |
| 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. | 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 married in 1978, had six children. | He and his wife Susan, who married in 1978, had six children. |
| A look at the important role Susan Tsvangirai played in her husband's life | A look at the important role Susan Tsvangirai played in her husband's life |
| 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. | 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 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. |
| Tense relations | Tense relations |
| The UK's Foreign Office expressed "deep sadness" at the news of Mrs Tsvangirai's death. | |
| "We are deeply saddened to hear news of Susan Tsvangirai's death and we offer our condolences," a spokeswoman said. | |
| "We are monitoring the situation closely." | |
| Relations between the MDC and Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party remain tense, with MDC ministerial nominee Roy Bennett still in custody, accused of links to an alleged plot to kill Mr Mugabe. | Relations between the MDC and Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party remain tense, with MDC ministerial nominee Roy Bennett still in custody, accused of links to an alleged plot to kill Mr Mugabe. |
| The MDC says the arrest - which happened on the day MDC ministers joined the power-sharing government - is a political manoeuvre by hard-line supporters of Mr Mugabe to destabilise the unity administration. | The MDC says the arrest - which happened on the day MDC ministers joined the power-sharing government - is a political manoeuvre by hard-line supporters of Mr Mugabe to destabilise the unity administration. |
| A magistrate who ordered the release of Mr Bennett was arrested on Friday. | |