Online Reporter
Raymond Jaravaza, [email protected]
FOUR of the six Highlanders supporters killed in Sunday’s horrific road accident along the Filabusi Road came from the same village in Killarney, Insiza District, Matabeleland South, leaving a close-knit community struggling to come to terms with the loss.
The six fans died on the spot while four others were injured when the kombi they were travelling in rammed into the rear of a stationary tipper truck about 15 kilometres from Amazon Shopping Centre. A Honda Fit subsequently crashed into the wreckage.
The Highlanders supporters were returning to Filabusi after attending the Highlanders versus Herentals match in Bulawayo when the tragedy occurred.
Village 22 headman Mr Thando Dube said the deaths had cast a dark cloud over the community, where the four victims lived in close proximity and knew each other well.
“Such a tragedy has never happened in this community and everyone in the village is in shock. We always hear about similar tragedies on the radio and today we are mourning the death of four people who are from Village 22 in Killarney,” said Mr Dube.
“Mourners have started gathering at the homesteads of two of the deceased and what makes this tragedy so heartbreaking is that we are such a small village and our homes are close to each other.”
The identities of the victims are being withheld until next of kin have been notified by the police.
Mr Dube said the community was already mobilising to support the bereaved families.
“All the families need our support, so we are trying to find a way that will enable villagers to support the families in equal measure. It might be better for all the villagers to meet at one place for evening prayers in support of all the grieving families and also get updates on burial arrangements,” he said.
Two of the deceased were employees of a local nightclub proprietor who is also believed to be the owner of the kombi.
Mr Dube said the two regularly travelled with the nightclub owner to Bulawayo to watch football matches.
When a Zimpapers news crew visited the crash site yesterday, the wreckages of the kombi and the Honda Fit had been removed from the scene and taken to Filabusi Police Station.
The vehicles were reduced to mangled metal, with burst tyres and shattered windows.
The tipper truck remained at the scene but was pushed a few metres off the road to prevent it from obstructing traffic.
Contrary to reports circulating on social media, the tipper truck does not belong to Insiza Rural District Council but is owned by a local gold miner.
Mr Philimon Sibanda, a shop owner at Amazon Business Centre and one of the first people to attend the scene, said the kombi crashed into the tipper truck before the Honda Fit piled into the wreckage.
“The accident involved three vehicles but there was no one in the tipper truck as it had developed a fault in the afternoon and the driver left it on the side of the road. The fire brigade team had to cut metal to free survivors from the wreckage,” he said.
Insiza Rural District Council chief executive officer Mr Shepherd Tshuma said the death toll could have been higher had the local fire brigade not responded swiftly.
“As soon as the call came in, our firefighters rushed to the scene to rescue survivors trapped in the two vehicles and the ambulances ferried them to the district hospital,” he said.
Mr Tshuma said the council’s investment in emergency response capacity had significantly improved its ability to respond to accidents and other disasters.
“In the past we would rely on emergency teams from Gwanda or Bulawayo to attend to such accident scenes. We have since acquired a fire tender using devolution funds and we have a six-member fire brigade that responds to emergency calls ranging from veld fires, mine accidents to road traffic accidents,” he said.
Bulawayo Chief Fire Officer Mr Mhlangano Moyo also commended the Insiza team for its swift response. He said the local firefighters received training from the Bulawayo Fire Brigade.
“Insiza RDC team, which was trained by the Bulawayo Fire Brigade, responded very quickly to extricate the trapped people,” he said.
The tragedy comes as the Highlanders family is still mourning the deaths of club chairman Kenneth Mhlophe, vice-chairman Sifiso Siziba, treasurer Nkani Khoza and club member, Mbalenhle Sibanda, who were killed in a road accident on the Harare-Bulawayo Highway, about 60 kilometres outside Bulawayo last month.
