Times Of Swaziland: 7 PUPILS INJURED AS KOMBI PLUNGES INTO CANA

7 PUPILS INJURED AS KOMBI PLUNGES INTO CANA
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BY KHULEKANI NENE on 12/03/2020 01:25:00


SITEKI – Seven pupils were injured and two other passengers escaped unhurt
when a kombi they were travelling in veered off the road and plunged into a
canal.
The accident happened at around 7am on Tuesday near Vuvulane, an agricultural
town in the north-eastern part of this country.
The driver of the kombi escaped unhurt and there were no casualties from the
accident, a police spokesperson said.
“Three injured passengers (pupils) were first rushed to Vuvulane Clinic before
they were transferred to Good Shepherd Mission Hospital. The other four
passengers were treated for minor injuries at Vuvulane Clinic and were later
discharged. All the injured passengers have since been discharged,” said
Phindile Vilakati, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer.
She said Tshaneni traffic police were still investigating the cause of the
accident. She stated that preliminary investigations suggested that the driver
may have lost control of the kombi thus it veered off the road and plunged into
the canal.
Vilakati mentioned that police would charge the driver only if investigations
revealed that the accident was caused by negligence and or reckless driving.
Comment
Meanwhile, the driver of the kombi was not immediately available for comment at
the time of compiling this report yesterday afternoon.
Police identified the driver as a 25-year-old man of Nyangombili area in
Lubombo.
The kombi was reportedly driving towards Vuvulane town and it was ferrying
mainly pupils, who were rushing to schools around the small town.
According to the police, two of the pupils who were injured are aged four years
and the eldest is 22 years old.
Meanwhile, people who visited the accident scene told this publication that the
vehicle could have experienced brake failure hence it plunged into the canal.
“We saw the kombi plunging into the canal and we rushed there to help the
passengers. Looking at the terrain near the accident scene, it is possible that
the kombi may have experienced brake failure,” said a person who visited the
accident scene.
Last Saturday, there was a near fatal accident at Malindza when a bus
overturned, injuring several passengers.
Subsequently, 15 passengers were rushed to Good Shepherd Mission Hospital in
Siteki, reportedly in a critical condition.
Some of the injured passengers were discharged the following day while others
are reportedly still admitted to the facility.
The bus was reportedly driven by a Mozambican national and it was destined for
Mozambique.