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Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Reporter
WHAT was supposed to have been their last night of a school trip in Manicaland turned into a night of horror for Grade Seven learners from Karoi Junior School and their teachers when they were involved in a fatal accident in Vumba.
The evening will remain etched on the minds of the bus accident survivors as they escaped death by a whisker when their bus developed brake failure near Eden Lodge in Vumba and veered off the road.
One teacher died in the accident.
Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Nobert Muzondo confirmed the accident which happened at the 16km peg along the Mutare-Vumba Road.
He said 21 passengers, including the driver, Mr Christopher Garawafa, were seriously injured and one of the teachers who was admitted at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital succumbed to injuries sustained in the crash.
“A Zhongtong bus with Karoi Junior School learners and teachers on board was involved in an accident at the 16km peg along the Mutare-Vumba Road on Tuesday evening.
“The driver, Christopher Garawafa (52), failed to negotiate a curve before the bus veered off the road and rammed on the eastern face of a mountain escarpment.
“The bus was carrying 69 passengers comprising 62 learners and seven teachers. Twenty-one people, among them the driver, were serious injured and ferried to Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital. The remainder sustained minor injuries and were treated and discharged at the same hospital,” said Inspector Muzondo.
He urged motorists to exercise caution at all times, especially when driving at night and during the upcoming Heroes’ and Defense Forces holidays.
“We urge drivers to be cautious this holiday season, not to drink and drive and by all means to avoid driving at night. This will help avoid unnecessary loss of lives,” he said.
When The Manica Post visited the injured at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital on Wednesday morning, most of them were still in shock.
School teacher, Mrs Josephine Burukai (39) said the accident was horrific.
Mrs Burukai said Mr Garawafa failed to navigate the curves due to a brake failure and veered off the road.
“The driver is actually a hero because he put his own life on the line when he forced the bus into an escarpment. If the bus had plunged into the valley, more lives could have been lost. I was thrown out of the bus as he tried to control it.
“The next thing I remember is waking up on the ground. Our learners and other teachers were crying inside the bus. People started arriving and they helped us to contact ambulances,” she said.
“We arrived on Wednesday and toured Nyanga and surrounding areas, including Vumba. We were set to travel back home today (Wednesday).
‘‘We were on our way from Vumba Botanical Gardens to Inn on the Vumba where we were booked when the accident happened,” she said.
Mrs Burukai who sustained injuries on the rib-cage, face and a broken leg said the driver was not speeding.
A witness, Mr Farai Kamhunga said the area is a black spot, adding that over the years, two accidents have happened on the exact spot.
“Some years back, a commuter omnibus also developed brake failure and passengers were injured.
‘‘On a different year, a truck carrying timber also developed the same problem, and one person died at that exact spot.
“We rushed here last night when we heard a loud bang of the bus hitting the rock and children screaming. It was a sorry sight. Something needs to be done so that drivers are made aware of the bad terrain in this area,” he said.
In addition to the Karoi Junior School road accident, two other major accidents happened across the province this past week.
The Manica Post also caught up with Ms Pariso Mafuleni (51), an accident victim of the Rusape minibus accident that happened last Friday night.
She was travelling together with her brother, Bishop Zondiwe Mafuleni of Flaming World Worship Centre, his wife, Patricia and their mother, who all perished in the accident with other relatives.
They were travelling to Harare from Honde Valley where they had gone for a funeral with close family members.
Ms Mafuleni, her sister and her sister-in-law, Ms Martha Mafuleni, are admitted at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital.
“We were coming from my grandmother’s funeral in a funeral policy company’s minibus. Just after Rusape, we had a head-on collision with a haulage truck. I do not know the fate of the other passengers, save for the three of us admitted here. I do not know whether my mother and brother are alive,” she said.
National police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the accident, saying 11 passengers were on board a Mitsubishi minibus when it happened.
“Six people died, while six others were injured when their minibus was hit on the left side by a Freightliner Columbia truck at the 158 km peg along the Harare Mutare Road last week on Friday,” said Assistant Commissioner Nyathi.
The minibus, which was overtaking a convoy of vehicles, was dragged by the Freightliner Columbia truck for about 40 meters.
Assistant Commissioner Nyathi also confirmed the death of five people who perished in a road accident that happened near Fern-Valley when a commuter omnibus that was trying to avoid a collision with an overtaking haulage truck plunged into a river on Sunday.
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