Zambia reels after horror bus crash

By Francis Maingaila

LUSAKA, Zambia (AA) – Almost 50 people are fighting for their lives after the bus in which they were travelling in crashed in Zambia.

Police confirmed 22 passengers died at the scene after the 70-seater vehicle, travelling from the northern Nakonde district to Zambia’s second city of Kitwe, overturned in the early hours of Friday morning.

Forty-eight people were hurt after the driver failed to negotiate a sharp corner due to speeding.

Police spokesman Rae Hamoonga told journalists the deceased include 16 male passengers, five females and one female juvenile.

Three members of the emergency services also died when an oncoming truck hit the bus from which they were trying to save trapped passengers.

The bodies of the deceased have been taken to Kabwe General Hospital for identification, postmortem and burial.

Some of the injured have been transferred to Lusaka’s University Teaching Hospital for specialized treatment.

Zambia’s Road Transport and Safety Agency spokesman Frederick Mubanga told journalists a motion to ban public transport from operating at night has been presented to the government. This followed research which suggested over three-quarters of Zambia’s fatal road accidents happened in the hours of darkness.

"This ban is aimed at trying to minimize the number of accidents taking place in the night where many lives have [been] lost," he added.