SIX people died on the spot when a Lusaka-bound bus they were travelling in overturned on the Solwezi-Mwinilunga road yesterday.
The Jitotwe bus had 25 people on board and 14, including the driver were injured, most of them seriously.
The accident happened around 07:00 hours at Kanzala, about 180kms from Mwinilunga and 110 km from Solwezi.
The deceased include Mwinilunga district police officer commanding Christopher Jinungo’s wife and his niece.
Mr Jinungo was also on board but survived the accident.
A reporter who went to the scene found hundreds of onlookers watching helplessly as police officers from both the divisional headquarters and Mwinilunga Police Station struggled to retrieve bodies trapped in the wreckage.
Quick response rescue teams from Barrick Lumwana and Kalumbila Trident mines that included specialised doctors were called to help retrieve the bodies and treat the injured.
The six bodies were taken to Mwinilunga District Hospital mortuary.
The driver of the bus, Brian Phiri, sustained serious injuries and was rushed to Solwezi General Hospital. The 13 injured passengers were rushed to Mwinilunga District Hospital.
One of the survivors, Ngosa Mwaba, who was the bus conductor said in an interview at the scene that the accident happened after the driver failed to negotiate a curve and the bus careered off the road and rammed into an anthill.
“You know it was raining. Then as we approached the bridge, because of this curve, the driver wanted to apply brakes and failed to negotiate. That is when it overturned, hitting into an anthill on the right side,” Mr Mwaba said.
Meanwhile, Solwezi district commissioner Crispin Likando said at the scene in company of several other Government officers that some road accidents on the Solwezi-Mwinilunga road are because of lack of road signs.
He said Government is concerned about the number of people dying in road traffic accidents.
All bus drivers should be required to go for further testing. We need signs on the road but we had roads with no signs for ages. this driver has travelled on the road before. speed and beer could be contributing factors. music or dvds are also played so loud in these buses. at the rate these accidents are happening, Zambian population will be finished soon and develpment is being hindered. i think we need buses made in Zambia according to our own specifications since our roads are very bad.
BA LT YOU SHOULD LEARN TO REPORT CORRECTLY ESPECIALLY WHEN IT CONCERNS LOSS OF HUMAN LIFE. YESTERDAY YOU REPORTED THAT 10 PEOPLE DIED IN THIS ACCIDENT. AND YOU SAID THE BUS BELONGING TO JITOTWE PLUNGED INTO THE KABOMPO RIVER. NOW TODAY YOU ARE SAYING 6 PEOPLE DIED. AND THERE IS NO MENTION OF PLUNGING IN THE KABOMPO RIVER. EVEN YOUR PICTUTURE DOES NOT SHOW ANY EVIDENCE OF PLUNGING IN THE RIVER. HOWEVER MAY THE SOULS OF THE DEPARTED RIEP.
I hope this is not a second one in spate of days from northwestern province and same bus operator.
JITOTWE means what?
Jitotwe means praise
Zambians have become more tribalistic. if this accident had happened in other parts of Zambia we would have have more comments. but because it is in NWP, most bloggers don’t care. but remember that every nationality is in NWP too. I just hope this is not a second accident. still there are just too many accidents in Zambia.
Why or why dont you introduce and make it mandatory for public transport vehicles to be fitted with speed delimiters capped at 80kph…MPs use your heads for once! !
Accidents caused by drivers failing to negotiate a curve shouldnt always be blamed on them but also on road contructors. Any curved road on any highway needs to be banked that is the road should be inclined to prevent a vehicle from skidding out of the road (centripetal forces; basics of physics!). It is very rare nowadays to see inclined curves as road builders are ever in a hurry to finish the constructions to get their loot
MORE SATANISM SACRIFICE.RATSA CHURCHES AND ALL ZAMBIANS LET US PRAY FOR THIS NATION. INVOLVE GOD. GOD COVER THIS NATION IN THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS AMEN!
My condolences goes to all wonderful people on that Mwinilunga- Lusaka bound bus. It is very unfortunate and it will be too soon to speculate who to blame. It is also very unfortunate that our own ever smiling Mrs Jinungo popularly known as ‘Baina Mpundu’. We will miss your charitable work mama. The only emphasis I will make on this accident is that we have new technological vehicles on the old infrastructure of roads. These buses have high speed mechanism desighned for wider roads. What do you expect to happen when they are being driven by these excited young drivers who do not understand the standards of our roads? What is a reality now is that we have lost bread winners who would have not died if we the was driving responsibly. We all know that those buses can cruiz but caution is on…