Another kombi crash kills 14 people

Fourteen people were killed when an overloaded Harare-bound commuter omnibus burst its left rear tyre and overturned in Nyazura yesterday afternoon. Nine passengers died on the spot and the remainder on admission at Rusape District Hospital.

The accident, in which 21 passengers were injured, comes three days after a similar tragedy claimed 19 people in Concession. The 26-seater Mercedes Benz Sprinter bus had 35 passengers on board when tragedy struck. This brings to 34, the number of people killed in kombi accidents since Saturday.

Police deputy chief spokesperson Chief Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka yesterday said the bodies of the deceased were taken to Rusape District Hospital mortuary. The injured were admitted to the same hospital.

“The 26-seater omnibus burst its left rear tyre before veering off the road, overturning and killing nine people on the spot,” he said. The identification of bodies, police said, was underway while their names will be released once their relatives have been informed.

Meanwhile, eight members of the Madanhi family, who perished in the Concession accident were buried in Tanda Communal Lands in Headlands yesterday. Transport, Communications and Infrastructural Development Minister Nicholas Goche yesterday urged drivers to be cautious.

Minister Goche sent a message of condolence to the families of the 19 African Apostolic Church members who died in the Saturday accident while on their way to a church conference.

“It is particularly disheartening that this accident occurred barely two months after the Easter holiday period accidents that claimed 78 lives. I urge both drivers of passenger-carrying and heavy vehicles to be extra vigilant, to obey speed limits, not to overload buses and use roadworthy vehicles when driving on our roads.

“This is another unfortunate example of disregarding the rules of the road by overloading the minibus. I repeat my appeal to all drivers of public service vehicles to exercise caution as we approach the Heroes’ Holiday, which is characterised by heavy mobility of traffic on all our roads,” he said.

Minister Goche urged drivers to respect human lives and drive with due care.

“My ministry will not hesitate to suspend operators’ licences for transporters found flouting the road rules. The drivers must carry the red reflective triangles and use them when stationary as required by law and not tree branches,” he said.