Six pupils perish, 14 injured in road crash

SIX pupils from Shabanie Primary School perished in a road accident yesterday, while 14 others were seriously injured when a vehicle they were travelling in overturned along the Mbalabala-Masvingo highway.

The accident occurred at 6.30am at the 117km peg when the driver of a Toyota Granvia, Tapiwa Ncube, tried to avoid a head-on collision. The Zvishavane-bound vehicle rolled several times, killing the pupils.

Police sources said that on approaching the 117km peg, the Granvia overtook another vehicle in front of oncoming traffic. When the head-on collision appeared imminent, Ncube veered off the road but lost control. The vehicle overturned landing on its roof.

“The Granvia was carrying 21 pupils from Mberengwa going to Shabanie Primary School in Zvishavane. On approaching the 117km peg the driver overtook another vehicle but there was an oncoming car which was also overtaking another vehicle.

“Ncube tried to avoid a head-on (collision) and veered off the road and it overturned and rolled twice,” said the police source.

Five pupils died on the spot while the other died on admission to Zvishavane District Hospital. The injured are admitted at the same hospital. Zvishavane District Medical Officer Dr Timothy Muvurayi confirmed the accident. “The bodies of the deceased pupils were taken to Zvishavane District Hospital mortuary awaiting post-mortem.

Six of the 14 injured pupils whose condition was critical have been transferred to United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) while the other eight are still receiving treatment at Zvishavane District Hospital,” said Dr Muvurayi. Police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi could neither deny nor confirm the accident.

“We do not have full details. We will give you a Press statement,” he said. Meanwhile, national police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said police were profoundly concerned at the rate at which lives were being lost on the roads.

Preliminary investigations, said Snr Asst Comm Charamba, appeared to indicate that the vehicle was not only overloaded by was being driven by an under-age driver. “The vehicle was overloaded considering that a Granvia is an eight-seater vehicle,” said Charamba. The Herald