By Evans Dakwa, News Editor
A horrific accident between a haulage truck and an Urban Connect bus has claimed the lives of 24 people in the latest chilling crash involving buses on the Harare-Beitbridge highway this morning.
The accident occurred this morning around 7 am when the bus, traveling from Harare, overtook a South African-bound Toyota Quantum owned by a funeral parlor and rammed into the haulage truck, which was leaving the Chapfuche tollgate near Lutumba.
Beitbridge District Medical Officer Dr. Lenos Samhere confirmed that of the 24 people who perished, seventeen died on the spot, while seven others lost the battle upon admission to Beitbridge District Hospital while awaiting transportation to Bulawayo.
Information gathered by our crew indicated that the air ambulance service is short of fuel to fly to Beitbridge and could only take the critically injured from Gwanda.
Eyewitnesses blamed the speeding Urban Connect bus for the carnage as it was approaching the tollgate, where ordinarily the driver was supposed to reduce speed. They described how the bus literally flew into the air, hitting the truck, throwing passengers out through the windows before landing on its wheels.
“The bus was clearly speeding, and after overtaking, the driver tried to flash the truck driver to give him space, but he did not move. We were saved by a four-year-old boy who signaled me to move out of the road to give way to the speeding bus. The bus hit the truck head-on, swerving to the side and throwing people out. I believe the bus was traveling at a speed way over one hundred kilometers,” said Thomas Nhundu, the driver of the funeral parlor vehicle who witnessed the accident.
Nhundu urged Zimbabweans to restore the spirit of Ubuntu.
“What I want to urge my fellow Zimbabweans is to have a heart. I saw people taking out their phones to take photos. People were crying for help while others were busy taking photos and videos,” he added.
The stretch between Chicago and just after the Lutumba tollgate on the Beitbridge Harare road has somewhat become a black spot, witnessing horrific accidents that more often involve buses.