LUSAKA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government on Monday apologized to Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila after his motorcade was involved in an accident during his Zambia visit.
On Sunday, one of the vehicles in Kabila's motorcade crashed with an oncoming vehicle that refused to give way.
The accident resulted in the driver of the other vehicle sustaining serious injuries and later died at a local hospital, while one police officer sustained injuries on his legs after he was hit by the vehicle.
Chief Government Spokesperson Dora Siliya said the accident was regrettable and that it could have been avoided if the other driver had obeyed police instructions for all vehicles on the road to give way to the motorcade.
She said in a statement that the driver disobeyed the orders and had to overtake between 10 and 15 other vehicles. One escort vehicle had no option but to provide cover to the DRC leader's vehicle, hence the crash.
"The action by the driver endangered the life of the visiting head of state, his entourage and members of the public," she said.