Grief, twisted wreckage at Ngondoma crash scene

Source: Grief, twisted wreckage at Ngondoma crash scene – herald

Freedom Mupanedemo, fmupanedemo@gmail.com

THE silence along the Gokwe Town–Kwekwe Highway at Ngondoma on Wednesday was heavy with grief.

What remained at the crash scene resembled a scrapyard of mangled steel and shattered dreams after a horrific head-on collision between a Trip Trans bus and a haulage truck claimed 10 lives and left several others seriously injured.

Twisted metal frames protruded from the wreckage. Torn seats, broken windows, ripped luggage and blood-stained debris lay strewn across the tarmac, painting a grim picture of the violence of the impact.

When a Zimpapers news crew arrived at the scene, police were still piecing together the final moments before tragedy struck shortly after 5 AM on Wednesday at the 110km peg towards Kwekwe.

The bus, carrying 36 passengers, is alleged to have attempted to overtake another vehicle before crashing into an oncoming 30-tonne haulage truck. Eight people died on the spot, while two others succumbed to injuries upon admission to Gweru Provincial Hospital.

The latest tragedy has pushed the death toll from road traffic accidents recorded over the past five days to 24 nationwide, following another fatal crash near Redcliff that killed six people and the Deka Road accident in Hwange that claimed eight lives of Roman Catholic pilgrims.

At Ngondoma, the scars of the collision stretched across the highway.

Pieces of shattered windshields glittered in the morning sun while pools of oil and fuel seeped across the road surface. Personal belongings, including shoes, handbags, blankets, and food containers, lay abandoned near the wreckage.

Deep skid marks and gouges carved into the tarmac revealed desperate last-second attempts to avoid the collision. A heavy silence hung over the area as villagers and travellers gathered from a distance, watching recovery teams carry out rescue operations and retrieve bodies from the crushed bus.

Gokwe South District Development Coordinator, Ms Netsai Mushauri, said the district was still struggling to come to terms with the devastating loss.

“The bus, carrying 36 passengers, had allegedly attempted to overtake another vehicle before colliding with a stationary 30-tonne truck at the 110km peg towards Kwekwe at around 5 AM,” she said.

Ms Mushauri said the district road traffic accident subcommittee immediately visited the accident site while emergency response teams worked tirelessly to assist survivors and retrieve bodies of the deceased.

“Eight people died at the scene and these include two female adults, a one-year-old girl and five male adults. Six others were transferred to Gweru Provincial Hospital, but two later died on admission,” she said.

The Ngondoma tragedy came barely 24 hours after another fatal collision near the Redcliff turn-off along the Harare-Bulawayo Highway claimed six lives in a separate head-on crash involving two Honda Fit vehicles and a haulage truck.

Kwekwe District Development Coordinator Mr Fortune Mupungu said both accidents were linked to human error.

He described the Redcliff turn-off as an emerging accident black spot.

“We had a send-off yesterday. Government assisted the families of the deceased with coffins,” he said.

Mr Mupungu explained that the accident occurred when a blue Honda Fit carrying five passengers attempted to overtake another Honda Fit, then lost control and veered into the lane of an oncoming AfroChine haulage truck.

“As he was overtaking, he lost control of the vehicle before hitting the rear right side of the other vehicle. He then encroached into the lane of the oncoming truck,” he said.

Mr Mupungu appealed to the Ministry of Transport to urgently install more visible warning signs in the area.

“This is becoming a black spot. ‘No overtaking signs’ should be clearly visible,” he said.

Mr Mupungu said the district civil protection committee would soon organise a cleansing ceremony in conjunction with the church and traditional leaders following the spate of fatal accidents in the area.

“We urge drivers to exercise extreme caution when driving on our roads, especially those driving public vehicles,” he said.

On Thursday, President Mnangagwa ordered urgent and coordinated action to stem the escalating road carnage, warning that reckless driving and unsafe vehicles can no longer be tolerated.

He expressed concern over what he described as a “bloody trail” on the country’s roads following the three major accidents.

The President said the latest accidents called for drastic measures and lasting solutions targeting irresponsible behaviour on the roads. He also directed Government to accelerate the re-establishment of road maintenance units across the country and provide adequate resources for repairs to weather-damaged highways and roads.