Times Of Swaziland: DRIVER BLAMES MECHANICAL FAULT AFTER 7 KILLED

DRIVER BLAMES MECHANICAL FAULT AFTER 7 KILLED
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Thokozani Mamba on 16/08/2022 09:38:00


MHLUME – The driver of the bus that plunged into the Black Mbuluzi River and
killed seven cane cutters on the spot yesterday morning, attributed the cause of
the accident to a mechanical fault.
Polycarp Dlamini, who was found at the scene, said the bus failed to engage the
right gear just as he was about to cross the crocodile-infested river. As a
result, the bus reversed at a high speed and plunged into the river. The
70-seater bus belongs to D & S Investments, a cane cutting company contracted to
Royal Eswatini Sugar (RES) Corporation. According to some of the people found on
the scene, they said the area where the accident happened was known as Section
16 at KaMasuku Ebhulohweni, which is situated between Ngomane and Mhlume.
Attended
Police officers from Tshaneni and Simunye were reported to have swiftly attended
to the scene together with RES Corporation’s Fire and Security Department
personnel. Also at the scene was RES Corporation Managing Director (MD) Nick
Jackson and other senior managers. Senior officials from the Ministry of Labour
and Social Security in Siteki also inspected the scene. A security officer said
the corpses of those who were retrieved from the bus that had been submerged
into the river at around 5am, were taken in three ambulances to the Good
Shepherd Catholic Hospital Mortuary. “I cannot give clear details of what I
saw as we were not the first to arrive at the scene after the alarm was raised.
Screams and shouts for help reverberated the scene and the swift response from
the company’s fire personnel possibly saved many lives,” said the security
officer. He said most of the bodies retrieved from the bus could not be easily
identified due to their state.
Traumatised
“I am still traumatised because of what I saw. It was my first time to attend
to such a gruesome accident since I was employed by the company,” elaborated
the security officer. Worth mentioning is that clothes, cane-cutting tools,
including boots and head-lamps, were found  littered on  the ground just a few
metres from the towed wreckage of the bus. A truck with a crane was used to tow
the bus out of the river. The driver, Dlamini, said the accident happened at
around 4am while ferrying the cane cutters to one of the sugar cane fields close
to the Mhlume Mill, from Ngomane. When asked if the bus had ever experienced
mechanical faults before, the driver said it was the first time as it was
well-serviced, according to his knowledge. “I was shocked when the bus failed
to engage gear one yet we were at an accident prone place and the river was
close-by. I tried to control it to ensure it landed into a ditch, but those
efforts were thwarted after it gained speed when it reversed into the river,”
he said. When further asked how many cane cutters were on board, Dlamini said he
was not sure as he did not count them when they boarded the bus.
“I only know that the bus carries 65 seated and a total of 78 passengers
inclusive of those standing. I did not count them when boarding the bus,” he
said. The son of the company’s director, Phathizwe Shongwe, echoed the
driver’s version, further mentioning that the bus’s gearbox experienced a
mechanical fault at the time when the driver was trying to engage a low gear.
Shongwe said he had been informed that 23 of the cane cutters were rushed to RES
Mhlume Clinic, where they were treated and discharged. He said 71 of them were
whisked to RES Ngomane Clinic and he was told medical check-ups were being
administered by the medical staff.
In essence, 94 were treated after being taken to the different clinics and the
total of the cane cutters on board the bus was 101, considering the seven who
died on the scene. “My father is the owner of the company and I came here
after I received a call about the accident. I was told that 23 were rushed to
Mhlume while 71 to Ngomane. I can only confirm that seven were reported dead and
we are still monitoring the situation of those who are being treated at the
Ngomane Clinic,” he said. Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer
Inspector Nosipho Mnguni confirmed the matter.
“We have a reported accident whereby a bus plunged into a river and seven
people were killed. Police are still conducting their investigations on the
circumstances leading to the accident,” she said, when asked at around 5pm
yesterday. Labour Commissioner Mthunzi Shabangu also confirmed the matter. “I
heard about it and I am yet to get an official report. Once it has officially
been confirmed to the ministry, an official statement will be issued by the
senior personnel,” he said. Meanwhile, Phathizwe further said he was yet to
identify the deceased at the mortuary so that their immediate families could be
informed about the tragedy.
Mortuary
“Police have just informed me that we will be going to the mortuary this
evening to identify the bodies. So for now, we cannot be able to assist with the
particulars of the deceased,” Shongwe said. Meanwhile, this publication
reported in September 2020 of an accident whereby a total of 16 passengers who
were injured during a bus accident were saved by good Samaritans as there were
no ambulances to rush them to hospital. A bus, which operates along the
Manzini-Buhleni-Matsamo route, had about 40 passengers and landed into a ditch
near Hhelehhele, along the almost complete Manzini-Mbadlane MR 3 Highway. The
bus was coming from Manzini, towards Mafutseni.