THE place where four staff members from the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) perished while two others sustained injuries in an accident, which occurred on the 38km peg along the Nyanga-Ruwangwe Road early yesterday morning is a black spot which barely goes for a week without an accident, local residents have said.
The villagers said speeding is the major cause of accidents
along that road.
The group was part of a team delivering goods for the
elderly in Ruwangwe community under First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s Community
Assistance and Empowerment Programme when their truck overturned.
Amai Mnangagwa, who was scheduled to interact with the
elderly and other vulnerable groups in Ruwangwe yesterday, was still in Nyanga
Town at the time of the accident.
The accident scene is in the region of the Nyanga bus
disaster in an area which is commonly known as “Corner raAmon”.
The Nyanga bus disaster occurred on August 3, 1991 and is
Zimbabwe’s worst traffic accident after 89 people died that comprised the driver
and 82 schoolchildren.
Yesterday, the Office of the President and Cabinet sent
condolence messages to the families of the bereaved and wished the injured a
speedy recovery.
“The office wishes to express its deepest, heartfelt
condolences to families of the deceased who are being reached over the
accident.
“In the same vein, the office wishes the two injured speedy
recovery,” said the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck
Sibanda in a statement.
A witness who declined to be named, said the driver failed
to negotiate a sharp curve.
“I was waiting for transport at a bus station when I saw
this truck passing.
“The driver was speeding and this made it difficult for him
to negotiate the sharp curves in this area,” he said.
One of the people who arrived at the crash site early, Mrs
Sarah Mukwekwe, said she was awakened by a loud bang.
“I live near the Tangwena turn off and I heard a bang. When
I went outside the house to investigate, I saw the lorry meandering before
hitting a trailer of a commuter omnibus which was travelling in the opposite
direction. It then overturned. This is an accident zone and every week or after
every two weeks an accident occurs here.
“Last week one man died while he was cycling and got hit
buy a driver who failed to negotiate a curve. We humbly plead with the
authorities to install barricades,” she said.
Mrs Regina Mautsa said she was alerted of the accident by
her children who were preparing for school.
“When we arrived at the accident scene, people were trying
to remove one person who was crying out for help underneath the truck. We then
brought a tractor which pulled the truck and managed to rescue him before he
was rushed to hospital,” she said.
Mr Lovemore Mhandu said he was about 40 metres from the
crash site when tragedy struck.
“When I arrived, the vehicle had overturned and we sought
to ways to assist the people. Unfortunately, four had already died. We later
rescheduled the one who was crying under the vehicle.
“He was in a stable condition though he was in a state of
shock calling out the names of his colleagues who had died. Personally, I urge
drivers to exercise caution because there are sharp curves and if one is
speeding, surely there will be consequences,” he said.
Mrs Felistus Matsiwira said; “My son told me that smoke was
billowing and a truck had fallen, prompting me to run to the scene. When I went
with another villager to investigate, I saw someone rolling in the thorns and
was about to get into the river and we rushed to assist him.
“He was alive, but seriously injured. We are not sure if he
jumped from the moving truck or he was thrown out by impact. Had we not seen
him, he might have drowned. We then put him into a car together with the one
who was trapped and was rushed to Regina Coeli Mission hospital.”
Mr Masimba Fombe from Mukwekwe Village gave his own version
of events.
“I was at the turn-off and a kombi had stopped on its way
from Nyamaropa. I just saw the truck descending the slope at high speed and hit
the trailer of the kombi before meandering and over turned,” he said.
Police Superintendent Crispen Makavanga urged motorists to
exercise caution.
“Around 0600hrs we received information that there was a
tragic accident that occurred along Nyanga-Ruwangwe Road. We reacted and
arrived on the scene where we discovered that a 7-tonne truck had overturned.
“We managed to retrieve four bodies. Two were alive and
were sent to Regina Hospital. As ZRP we urge motorists to exercise caution at
all times. This stretch has sharp curves and drivers should exercise extreme
caution,” he said.
Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister
Nokhuthula Matsikenyere fought off tears as she expressed grief over the
accident.
“As Manicaland, we were excited that our mother had come to
spend time with us because when the First Lady comes, we are always happy as
she comes to teach us and give us whatever she would have brought for her
children. We were expecting this to be a day of happiness.
“This accident pained us. We have lost four children. We
know this area is an accident zone but we were not expecting this. We send
condolences to the bereaved families,” she said. Herald
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