Three children aboard the Scania Marcopolo bus registration number ABA 4611 have lost their mothers after the bus they were travelling in plunged into a gorge at Luangwa bridge along the Great East road on Saturday killing 14 people and injuring 54 others.
The survivors sustained serious injuries and were evacuated to Muphansya mission hospital in Luangwa and others flown to University Teaching Hospital (UTH by Zambia Airforce
The injured passengers sustained among other injuries broken spines, skulls and cuts on their bodies. Half of the bus is said to be submerged in the river as more passengers are feared trapped in the wreckage.
Zambia Police Spokesperson, Charity Munganga Chanda, confirmed the development to QFM News that amongst the dead are six females and eighty males who include the driver of the bus.
Ms Munganga stated that the bus was coming from Lusaka heading to Eastern Province.
She said that officers were currently at the scene of the accident trying to retrieve the bus from the ditch using a crane from the Zambia Army.
Ms Munganga said that investigations into the cause of the accident have been instituted.
The accident happened yesterday around 19:28 hours at the Luangwa bridge in Luangwa.
Meanwhile, Information and Broadcasting Services minister Mwansa Kapeya said the Government has learnt with deep shock and sorrow, the death of 14 people in the fatal road traffic accident involving an Eastern Province bound bus at Luangwa Bridge on the Great East Road.
“On behalf of the Government and people of Zambia, I convey deep-felt condolences to the bereaved families and wish the injured a quick and full recovery.
“We beseech God, Almighty, to strengthen and comfort us a nation as we go through this tragic and painful loss,” he said.
Mr Kapeya said Government was deeply concerned with the high frequency of road fatalities and would not rest in putting in place appropriate measures to make the Zambian roads safer.
So sad, may the Lord strengthen the bereaved families especially the orphaned children.
its high time the government put up very strict driving laws,,, speeding on bad roads is one factor,, masumba bought drivers licenses is another very common cause,,,
Government also regulate the times these buses travel and these buses must be seriousily examined for fitness and finally stamp out corruption in the traffic department,,, this is SAD,,
How many more lives should be lost before we can see a positive reaction from government??!!
Ndobo. What we need in Zambia now is dual carriageways. If you look at the volume of traffic that these roads are carrying, its high. The rate at which people are traveling between towns, provinces and districts is also high. Even in a highly policed state, if the main inter-province roads are like the ones in Zambia, you will still experience accidents. This is one of the many unfortunate accidents. The driver might have blinked once and he was caught up in this unfortunate situation. It is really difficult with such main roads to be safe. I am positive the policy direction by PF to expand and improve the road infrastructure will be one of the greatest solutions to these fatal accidents. We mourn with the families and pray for those in hospitals for a quick recovery.
@john
Great points… but what do we do immediately, because this is a desperately urgent!!.. what do we do now while we are waiting for funds for dual carriage ways and `clever than zambians` chinese to come and construct those dual carriage ways???
I have used some of these buses. Unfortunately, bus drivers do not want to learn. For this bus to plunge into the river, it could either mechanical fault that was not attended to or the driver slept. on several occasions the drivers have a habit of drinking alcohol when buses are being loaded.
Very sad story indeed. Let hand of God tough these people.
The govt to deal with the owner of the bus.
Every time when sata and PF win bye elections people die. PF is a curse to this country so much evil have mushroomed ever since sata entered state house
Under normal circumstances, if we had a serious thinking govt, at the rate of accidents in Zambia, a commission of inquiry should have been set up and a strategic plan drawn to prevent these accidents. The country is losing human manpower, some very educated
May the almighty God look after these precious little children. Lord I pray for the bereaved find refuge and comfort in you. I saw one baby on TV, very beautiful baby.
i dont know how many inocent people wil die as a result of acident before sata is out of state house?.
its unfortunate that we have dull people that think president Sata is causing accidents when u well know of similar past accidents like kawambwa.53miners in chambeshi. lets advise and comfort during this time not to point fingers at each other .its not every relative that die is said to have been bewitched be real man okay and next time think before you post
And you start politics over this ? Be a bit sensitive bro.
Sata is more interested in winning by elections than saving people’s lives thru safety measures and real development in transportation.
Thank God its not me mentioning Sata, however, why take survivors to UTH where nurses are on strike?
Country Men and Women Lets Stand in Prayers. For the Bible Says If My People Who are Called By My name Will Humble themselves and Pray Iwil Heal their Land. Lets Come Against the Spirit Of Satanism, In The Name Of Jesus. Lets Uproot All The Plans Of The Devil In The Name Of Our Lord Jesus. Let Seal All The Roads With The Blood Of Jesus. Father Lord Heal Our Country Zambia, Lord We Know That We Are Sinners, Forgive Us. We Come Against Any Plan Of Satan On Friday The 13,we Seal Our Country Zambia With The Blood Of Jesus, Every Bad Plan,every Attack I Say Back To The Sender In Jesus Name. Amen
Amen
Amen.
People can pray much as they can including fasting but without practical logical reaction like strict traffic controls the prayers will be a waste of Gods time and your energies.Sometimes we should acknowledge that though we are not of this world,we are still in this world.We should not detach ourselves from reality.Thats exactly the problem of the church today;it has become either too spiritual to be of earthly relevance or too compromised it can not be told apart from the heathens.Therefore,the easier escape is to blame it on the devil.What about our personal responsibility?
Afrikans Prayers for everything, Prayers for poor planning, if we spent less time reading the bible and reading books we would be rich.
You are right by saying that “If My People Who are Called By My name Will Humble themselves & Pray I will Heal their Land”. Also the Bible states that “my people perish because of lack of Knowledge”, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” We can Come Against the Spirit Of Satanism and bind spiritual wicked forces and seal the roads with the blood of Jesus, the accidents will continue to happen because of our disobedience not to address what has been revealed to us by God. Even when drivers know that the roads are bad they drive very fast or drive defective vehicles. Drivers even bribe policemen for driving defective vehicles. In most cases the devil is not…
May the good lord help us
This RONSIL BUS i hear its not roadworth. I hear these buses have break downsvthru and thru. Eastern province bus can never be at Luangwa at @ 19.00hrs unless something wrong went wrong. Am sure the bus lost breakin system.
@ZP
your statement can be very true!!! the last time i was at intercity ,,, most buses which go to eastern province,, malawi and zimbabwe looked battered and unroadworth
Correct.19hrs is too late for eastern province bound bus to be at Luangwa.it was supposed to be somewhere petauke or sinda.
I was just awaiting confirmation. RONSIL, I’m not surprised. I was following this bus on my way to the East in October during my vacation. I was in my Audi A4 doing a humble 100, and this guy was leading me at 120 through those curves and caves from Luangwa to Nyimba.
I wish I were a law-enforcer, they were going to kiss goodbye to their operating licence.
This is sad.I feel very moved.Mtsrip
@1.1 ndobo,
I regret u a giving advice on this issue to people who are very comfortable and not affected by sad incidents like this. Sorry ndobo! This is not what can make them jump up. By now stringent measures to reduce road cannage wud ve taken root. After all the usual song of overspeeding ll close the chapter and ll be business as usual.
Zindaba soko and his bunch of filthy corrupt moguls shud ve been fired by now.
Great north rd dual carriage way contract was signed many months ago. What do we ve, nothing! When pipo perish, political statements are never in short supply.
the govt should consider banning old cars on the road. how do you expect a 20 year old car on the road to be in a road worthy condition even when its been “refurbished.” lets wake up to the reality. Imports are good, but there is need for regulation, no matter how good the roads are.
This weekend has claimed so many through accidents, even that Congolese musician Tabuley was taken yesterday I think old age or something, so people lets love, cherrish and respect each other, we shouldnt be reminded how vulnerable and short life is when our beloved depart, we are all destined to go, so lets live to the fullest and celebrate life whilst we can, GBTSs.
Should read, we shouldnt be reminded of how vulnerable and short life is.
hahahahahaha… what are you afraid of, correcting yourself?? the lecturer?
me, i dont worry about my mistakes,, i write a alot på svenska and that has greatly compromised my english which i was not very good at, in first place when i left zambia.
@Ndobo,
Hahahahahaha!
Afraid? no ways Lecturer Oyaya must be on holiday by now hahahahaha… just joking, I actually always corrected myself alot of times only sometimes when I have the energy I try to put it up, other times I do it for fun like today, thats why you see it overal, Lecturer is nursing his hang over am sure, have you seen his posts anywhere lately? He must be waiting, hey Lecturer where you at? hihihihi!
So sad,but please lets mind our comments,its not time to politic.we simply pray for the will of GOD the almighty to prevail.
That section of the road is dangerous needs fixing.. The bridge too..we need a new bridge and the road needs to be wider and put crash barriers along the edges pls
sad news indeed. May the Lord God comfort the bereaved.
Peace and Prosperity to Mother Zambia
Sad indeed! Mtsrip
First of my sincere condolences on the deaths of those who have passed on. I pity those traumatised children too.
May I also express concern at the speed, the lack of due care at which most buses travel. I have seen this with my own eyes and often wonder why there is so much recklessness. Can we have effective police patrols, can we have somewhere to report cases where bus and other drivers are seen to drive dangerously on our roads?
I would like to see the drivers and owners prosecuted so that innocent people do not die. There are too many people behind the who should not be driving. Many disregard obvious road rules!
@maurice [email protected] that you revere your president so much.but is it a coincidence that a number of “big” acidents hav ocured in the last two years of sata’s rule?is it a coincidence that each time there is a by election blood is spiled in the area where a by election is to be held?ever heard sata saying anything against acidents?do you also know that sata was forced to atend a funeral of chibombo victims early this year?you surely need spiritual eyes to see.not even hilly tanzania has such acidents,let alone trafic.
@15 ganja farmer
Shut your a.s.s.
@ Ganja farmer,
Thats a strange way of looking at reality.
Last week, another bus went off the road, the bus was coming from Livingstone to Lusaka, one person died, the bus was travelling at night. The answer to all this is RTSA not to allow any buses travelling at night. Look at these poor children who have lost their mothers in the night. Who is going to identify them? How long will it take before they can get any relatives to look after them?
My deepest condolences. I feel your pain during this trying moment. I have walked this path of a journey too. Stay strong
Have we learnt anything in terms of trauma care and emergency evacuation since the Chibombo post bus accident?
Good to see the Presidential Chopper being used for emergencies. What a kind president!!
@HAPPY that is not the presidential chopper. This one is actually a gunship which is also a general purpose aircraft also used to ferry troops in the field. The presidential chopper is copper in colour and has permanently fixed executive features while this one in the photo is painted in camouflage.
@HAPPY that is not the presidential chopper. This one is actually a gunship which is also a general purpose aircraft also used to ferry troops in the field. The presidential chopper is copper in colour and has permanently fixed executive features while this one in the photo is painted in camouflage. Good job though by ZAF.
There would be lesser accidents if Sata and his cabal were not in power.All our nation’s energies are misdirected at political gains rather than saving lives and improving livelihoods so such accidents won’t happen.
I am truly amazed how people can rant about Pf and HE the president and no criticism of the bus company responsible for the bus? I am also failing to see how you can crash off that bridge with 5 kph speed limit and heavily armed soldiers all around you
You guys trying to politicise this are S tu p i d . Africa has less than 2 percent of worlds traffic but over 25 percent of fatal accidents, and its due to disregulation in everything, cars, drivers, traffic departments and personnel etc. What has happened is that number of cars has increased so you get jump in these kinds of tragedies. You need: 1. Proper roads with signs, reflective posts on sides, periodic overtaking lanes. 2. Strict licensing, alcohol, and speed regulations and enforcement. 3. Strict warrant of car fitness enforcement… yeah fix a few things and so much will get better. Its not rocket science.
Very sad. too many bus accidents under PF. bad night time bus driving. impose speed limit.
looks like the chopper needs some help. Zambia watchdog reported this accident early yesterday before anyone reported it. we need ZWD around.
Was on the said bus, driver wasn’t over speeding. breaks stopped working at the check point
Why women travel with under five children? I know its a way of showing the husband that wherever she isgoing she will not go to sleep with another man because the kid would come to tell the husband , this is really shallow thinking, stop it. How could a normal driver plunge into the river when as far as iam concerned when one leaves luangwa check point the road meanders so much that the maximum speed one can drive is 20km/h before crossing the bridge, dull driver
Who will look after HH ?
Drunken driving and no ratsa. Busy in lusaka
@ membe post and ganjer farmer plz behave yourselves.Why do u hav 2 blame on Sata? Cm on guys wake up,thez mo to life than jus criticising Sata
my codolences
MY HEART IS TOUCHED AT THAT OFFICER HOLDING THAT CHILD, I SEE A SOLDIER WITH A HEART OF A FATHER AND NOT A MILITARY MAN DOING HIS JOB AS AN OFFICER. MAY THE LOARD TOUCH AND CONFORT THE AFFECTED.
Passed there last night.the bus didnt even go as far the bridge. It lost its breaking system just after the check point. Great east road terrain is very mountainous and it takes it tore on the vehicles breaking system because you have to accelerate and break often. This goes back to RSTA and bus proprieters lets stop the rot of issuing and buying vehicle fitness to vehicles which are not road worth,our roads are so narrow and dangerous to risk all that. No money is worth making at the expense of innocent souls.may God comfort all the relatives and victims.finally guys lets be human and let us not politise everything this can happen to any of us anytime.
Too bad. These accidents are taking a great toll on the citizens on this country. Just yesterday another fatal accident on Kamloops road. A man is his Isuzu twin cab was crashed to death by a careless truck driver who abandoned his lane because of the small potholes . They had to spend over one hour removing the body from the mangled car. God we cry for your mercy.
The
personnel must be a wonderful husband and father.your emotions are real
sir.
heart breaking
This is big loss of lives especially the mothers who have left young children.
MAY THE LORD ALMIGHTY COMFORT THE BEREAVED FAMILIES IN THIS TRYING MOMENT.OH LORD WHAT HAS GONE WRONG IN OUR COUNTRY!PERHAPS RESTRICTING DRIVING OF PASSENGER BUSES AFTER 18 HRS CAN WORK.ITS REALLY SAD THAT INNOCENT LIVES HAD TO BE CUT SHORT.LORD WE PUT ALL THIS SUFFERING BEFORE THEE FOR YOU ALONE CAN PROVIDE A SOLUTION.
i challenge zindaba soko to retest everyone who obtained drivers licence between 2008 and now, lets see who ll pass. Zindaba soko’s moguls and traffic police are never interested in pipo who want to obtain licences in a genuine manner.
I was in Z few weeks ago and happen to use Ronsil bus,from lsk to cp.i agree that their buses needs taking out of the road.The bus had a knocking noise on the rear diff,thought we will stop and check where the noise was coming from,alas,we never stopped anywhere for that reason until Chipata.
I boarded one Johabie bus when I attended a family function in Nyimba, the speed at which we were moving was terrifying. I have vowed never to board a bus for anything other than a funeral in my family. For other occasions, I will just send gifts and cards. It was horrible!I feel for the families of the departed.sad indeed. Mysrip. Prayers and love to all who are beareaved.
firstly i like to pass my deeply sincere condolences to families whose relatives died in that tragedy accident and may God almighty give them strength to soldier on.And to the surviving brothers and sisters GOD help you to heal well and fast so that you can go back to do your duties and responsibilities.AND THE GOVT SHOULD TRY ALL THERE LEVEL BEST TO FINISH THE CONSTRUCTION WORKS ON THAT ROAD COZ SO MANY INNOCENT LIVES HAVE BEEN LOST ON IT-THERE BLOOD LIES UPON THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is so sad to lose lives like this. However I don’t subscribe to the idea of blaming every accident on government. The driver could have slept, human error, drunk or even a mechanical fault. The biggest problem we have in this country is blame culture and that is why we shall never go forward as a nation. Anything that happens we blame government. The issue of improving road infrastructure has been a long outstanding issue and I do comment the PF government with coming up with an ambitious plan to improve it. We just need to strengthen the operations of RATSA and as well as Traffic Police so that we have competent drivers, roadworthy vehicles on our roads.
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