Four people, including a Power Tools public service bus driver and his son, have died while 36 others have been injured following a serious road traffic accident along the Great East Road in Lukwipa area of Rufunsa District.
The accident happened at around 11:00 hours yesterday when the Power Tools bus was travelling towards Chipata and a Volvo truck and trailer was heading in the opposite direction towards Lusaka.
According to Zambia Police Public Relations Officer Godfrey Chilabi, preliminary investigations indicate that the Volvo truck driver moved into the opposite lane while attempting to avoid hitting a stationary motor vehicle.
The manoeuvre allegedly resulted in a head-on collision with the oncoming Power Tools bus.
Chilabi said the bus driver, Ask Mulobela, and conductor Innocent Mulobela, who is reported to have been the driver’s son, sustained fatal injuries in the accident.
The two were pronounced dead upon arrival at Mpanshya Mission Hospital.
Two passengers who were travelling on the Volvo truck also died in the accident.
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One of the deceased has been identified as Fortune Mwanza, while the other remains unidentified and is believed to be a male aged between 25 and 30 years.
Police said 57 passengers were travelling on the Power Tools bus at the time of the accident, with 35 of them sustaining injuries.
The injured passengers were taken to Mpanshya Mission Hospital, where they are receiving medical treatment.
The 25-year-old Volvo truck driver, Paul Banda of Sinda District, also sustained serious injuries and is admitted to Mpanshya Mission Hospital.
The bodies of the four deceased have been deposited at the Mpanshya Mission Hospital Mortuary, where they are awaiting identification and postmortem examinations.
Both the Power Tools bus and Volvo truck and trailer were extensively damaged in the collision.
Police have continued investigations into the Rufunsa road accident to establish the full circumstances surrounding the crash.
The accident has once again highlighted the dangers faced by motorists and passengers along the Great East Road, particularly where traffic encounters stationary vehicles and other road obstructions.
