38 'VIRGINS' DIE IN HORRIFIC CAR CRASH AS THEY WENT TO DANCE FOR KING MSWATI III;
Africa's last absolute monarch King Mswati III will have to wait for a few more days before he chooses his 15th wife after 38 virgins perished in a tragic road accident as they made their way to dance for him bare-breasted.
At least 38 died when the open-topped truck collided with another vehicle, before being hit by a second truck as it travelled along a motorway between the Swazi cities of Mbabane and Manzini on Friday afternoon.
The girls were all taking part in the Swazi Reed Dance Festival, an annual event which sees tens of thousands of unmarried girls - or 'maidens'.
King Mswati is known to pick his wives from the girls who perform for him at the traditional dance, a tribute to the queen mother.
Last year, he plucked a 19-year-old virgin from the dancing maidens, who became his 14th wife.
Mswati's father, King Sobhuza II married 70 wives, who gave him 210 children between 1920 and 1970.
About 180 children survived infancy, and 97 sons and daughters were reported living as of 2000. At his death in 1982, he had more than 1000 grandchildren.
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