DRIVER BLAMES MECHANICAL FAULT AFTER 7 KILLED

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.

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