15 injured in Intercape bus accident

By Shamiso Dzingire

Fifteen people were yesterday injured when an Intercape bus enroute to Malawi overturned along the Masvingo-Beitbridge highway.

National police spokesperson Paul Nyathi said the bus was coming from South Africa with 47 passengers on board.Nyathi said the incident occurred in the early hours of yesterday morning in an area called Nyanda which is about 15km from Masvingo.

“Of the 15 injured, four are South Africans while four are Malawian,” Nyathi said.

“The bus was travelling from South Africa enroute to Malawi and on approaching the 18km peg along Masvingo-Beitbridge , it is suspected that a haulage truck which was going in the opposite direction encroached into the lane of the bus and as a result, the bus veered off the road,” Nyathi said.

Nyathi said the haulage truck trailer hit a culvert and swiped the bus on the side, causing it to overturn.

“The injured were rushed to Masvingo General Hospital where most were treated and discharged. Currently, three are still admitted at the hospital,” Nyathi said.

The police spokesperson raised concern over motorists’ failure to observe road rules. The Intercape bus accident comes at a time when the nation is still mourning the loss of scores of lives in a plethora of accidents that have rocked the country since the beginning of November.

Passenger Association of Zimbabwe (Paz) President Tafadzwa Goliati said it is saddening that the nation continues to experience tragedies that are otherwise avoidable.

“An accident like the Intercape bus accident should in all probabilities not occur. Buses and haulage trucks and buses must be allocated separate time schedules for travelling on our roads as is the case in Zambia,” Goliati said.

He also called upon the government to expedite road rehabilitation and expansion of the Harare-Beitbridge road. Daily News.