adminNqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent
ONE person died while 23 others were injured after a Kurai bus veered off the road and overturned in Bulawayo’s Belmont industrial area on Wednesday night.
The bus, which was travelling from Botswana and bound for Harare, veered off the road near Datlabs along Plumtree Road after a kombi made a sudden stop in front of it.
Among the survivors were infants aged between nine months and four years old.
No one from the kombi was injured.
Bulawayo Chief Fire Officer Mr Richard Peterson blamed the accident on negligent driving by the commuter omnibus driver who made a sudden stop in front of the bus to pick up a passenger.
“In a bid to avoid the kombi, the bus veered off the road, crossed the double road carriage and overturned near Datlabs. A male aged 28 died on the spot while the other passengers sustained minor injuries,” he said.
Mr Peterson said 20 passengers, six females and 14 males were taken to the United Bulawayo Hospitals for treatment.
“There were six females between the ages of four and 44-years-old and 14 males between the ages of nine months and 43 years old who were rushed to UBH for treatment. The passengers were not seriously injured as most of them suffered soft tissue tearing,” he said.
The bus driver and two other passengers refused to be taken to hospital.
Mr Peterson expressed concern over negligent driving by kombi crews saying some accidents could be avoided.—@nqotshili.
Online Reporter