Thirteen people among them two babies have died on the Kapiri-Kabwe road in a road traffic accident involving a canter truck and a Petrotech- fuel tanker.
Meanwhile, eight people have survived the same accident which happened last night around 21:00 hours after a head-on collision of the canter truck and the fuel tanker.
Both drivers from the accident vehicles are among the dead.
The fuel tanker registration number ABT 3209 coming from Ndola enroute to Lusaka was carrying 21000 liters of petrol and 17000 litters of diesel when it collided with the canter truck which had at least 23 passengers on board.
A ZANIS crew which rushed to the scene of the accident at Vuba area on the Kapiri –Kabwe road found police led by Police Deputy Commissioner- Operations, Dr. Solomon Jere and fire brigade still pulling out bodies of the victims from the wreckage.
By press time the canter truck which was carrying bundles of fish was still trapped underneath the fuel tanker.
Smashed bodies of victims could be seen within the mangled canter truck which was trapped underneath the oil Tanker.
Police Deputy Commissioner, Solomon Jere told ZANIS that the accident happened when the driver of the canter which was coming from Kabwe veered off the rightful lane to avoid hitting into a stationary truck.
Dr. Jere said the driver of the canter truck tried to avoid the stationary truck on his lane resulting in him going into the other lane were he collided with an on coming Oil Tanker which was on its rightful lane.
He said police do not know the exact number of bodies trapped under the fuel tanker as they were still awaiting a crane from Lusaka to move the tanker.
Dr. Jere said the operation was also considering decanting the fuel from the tanker to make it lighter for it to be easily hoisted from over the canter.
[pullquote]“As you can see the tanker is still on top of the canter truck and the crane that we have is smaller so we have called for reinforcement for a bigger crane so that we remove the tanker. The other option is to decant the fuel from the tanker but this is also proving to be a delicate operation,” Dr. Jere said.[/pullquote]
He however said police and fire brigade have only managed to pull out 13 dead bodies among them two children who have since been taken to Kabwe General Hospital Mortuary.
The Deputy Commissioner said police are still working out ways of retrieving the bodies which were still believed to be trapped in the canter truck beneath the oil tanker.
Dr. Jere said the eight survivors have been rushed to Kabwe general Hospital for treatment describing their conditions as critical.
“As you can see the tanker is still on top of the canter truck and the crane that we have is smaller so we have called for reinforcement for a bigger crane so that we remove the tanker. The other option is to decant the fuel from the tanker but this is also proving to be a delicate operation,” Dr. Jere said.
Dr. Jere blamed the accident on careless driving and overloading on the part of the canter truck driver.
Dr. Jere advised motorists to observe traffic rules to avoid such tragic accidents which cost lives of people.
He described the accident as the worst that has happened in a long while in the country.
Two other vehicles were also extensively damaged from the accident after they avoided ramming into the fuel tanker.
The two vehicles were following the fuel tanker which collided with the canter.
All passengers from the other two vehicles survived with minor injuries.
[ ZANIS ]
Too much speeding per Zed. Big trucks should travel at reduced speed on our roads. Condolences to the bereaved families.
Eish this made my body to clinge.MTSRIP.
Mmmmmmm this is so touching. So sad indeed. May the souls of the deceased rest in peace.
This is very sad indeed ,why be in a hurry and end up killing people like that?Bread winners are gone and families will suffer.May their souls rest in peace.
God you have directed us to give thanks in all situations and we rightly do so. Lord to lose life in situations such as these is truly disheartening. To the families, we shall ALL Pray for you and we know that God shall truly make a way. Lord may you arise and shine in this situation and let your Glory forever prevail.. We thank you for your love God and we Thank you that when we pray you ALWAYS answer. We ask all we do in Yesu’s name, AMEN
I do not really understand the problem with news reporters in Zambia. this piece of news is full of lies. firstly, the picture is not that of the said accident. second, the number of people confirmed dead at the time Dr Jere was giving the interview was 17 not 13 as reported, and lastly, the Tanker was not carrying Diesel but petrol only. Coming on the issue of the cause of the accident, i strongly feel that it is high time the Police opened Manyumbi check point. that Fuso truck would not have been allowed to go through the check point unless some ‘powerful forces’ intervened.
i meant the picture by zambian on line. anyway the other lie is that both drivers died. the fact is that at the time Dr Jere was giving the interview, and by 1800hrs today, the driver of the Fuso truck was admitted to Kabwe General Hospital and his condition was critical, while the other passengers admitted to the same hospital were a bit well with minor injuries but not in critical condition as reported by LT. CHECK YOUR FACTS MAAAN.
AMEN!!!!
WE BLESS YOU LORD……