FOUR people have been burnt to death on Great North road traffic accident in Serenje after a Scania Marcopolo Bus and Daf Truck went up in flames following a violent head-on collision this afternoon.
The incident occurred around 12:00 hours in the Kafunda area of Serenje District along the Great North Road.
Involved in the devastating crash was 49-year-old Collins Magula, a resident of Zingalume Township in Lusaka, who was behind the wheel of the Scania Marco Polo Bus bearing registration number ABE 78.
The bus, owned by Harvey Bus Transport, was on a journey from the South to the North, carrying a total of 76 passengers.
Tragedy struck when an unidentified male driver, piloting a Daf Truck and Trailer with registration numbers T918 DXU and T310 DXU respectively, collided head-on with the bus.
The Daf Truck was laden with sulfur and en route from the North to the South.
It was later revealed that the driver of the Daf Truck was suspected to be a Tanzanian National.
The collision resulted in a fiery inferno that consumed both vehicles, reducing them to ashes.
The impact claimed the lives of four unidentified males, suspected to be two from each of the involved vehicles.
The driver of the Daf Truck was among the deceased.
In the aftermath of the accident, a number of passengers suffered serious injuries.
According to police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga, among the injured were Isaac Viyande, 29, from Kanyama in Lusaka, who sustained a fractured right leg.
An 18-year-old male juvenile from Luwingu Shimumbi area bore an open wound on the right leg and complained of chest pains.
Hamoonga disclosed that other injured passengers included, “Phiri Isah, 29, from Kaputa, who sustained a cut on the left hand; Kasonde Chola, 29, also from Kaputa, with cuts on both knees; Chanda Joab, 31, from Mpika, also with cuts on both knees; Musonda Mwengu, 44, from Lusaka Chibolya, who suffered a swollen face and painful right leg; Oliver Nsama, 26, from Garden House Lusaka, with a cut on the forehead, painful chest, and body pains; Harrison Ndumba, 40, from Kafue, enduring chest pains and body aches; Tasila Sakalima, 33, from Lusaka, with chest pains; and Kunda Precious, whose age was not disclosed, with cuts on the head.”
The injured passengers are currently receiving medical treatment at Serenje District Hospital, while the bodies of the deceased have been transferred to the hospital mortuary for postmortem examinations and eventual burial.
Remarkably, the driver of the bus and other remaining passengers escaped the harrowing incident unscathed.
By Moses Makwaya
Kalemba August 19, 2023
