This accident occurred at Cement Siding after TP Transport bus loaded with passengers and on its way from Harare side swept a Kombi and a Mercedes Benz sprinter minibus which were also loaded with passengers and going opposite direction. The drivers of the kombi and sprinter minibus lost control and veered of the road. Eight people who were in the Sprinter minibus were killed on the spot,while two people who were in Kombi were also killed on the spot. One person who was in the bus was also killed.
When The Zimbabwean visited the accident scene, police and fire brigade officers were busy retrieving bodies from wreckages while ambulances were ferrying the injured to United Bulawayo Hospital.
The accident happened at the same spot where eight people were killed in January this year after the driver of a Botswana registered bus, Jay-Jay Tours, lost control at a curve on a morning marked by heavy showers and veered off the road.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Mandlenkosi Moyo only said: “Yes an accident has occurred, but I am still getting more details about that.”
Hundreds of Zimbabweans including some senior government leaders have perished in road accidents that experts have largely blamed on the poor state of roads and human error.
This past festive season has seen a death toll of over 208 people compared to about 147 who died in road accidents in 2011.The accidents occurred despite the heavy presence of traffic police on major highways.
Traffic safety officials blame a number of factors for the upsurge in crashes and including the poor state of the roads and the increase in the volume of traffic and human error.
Police have also been accused of contributing to the carnage by taking bribes from traffic offenders, enabling unroadworthy vehicles to continue plying the roads.
Post published in: News