Eighteen people have died in Mazabuka after the Monze bound Fuso fighter truck they were in rammed into Mazabuka Shoprite checkers building around 01:00 hours on Monday Morning.
The eighteen people including ten males, five females and three children died on the spot.
Both Southern Province Police Commissioner Mary Chikwanda and Mazabuka Acting District Commissioner Wilson Siadunka confirmed the death in separate interviews with ZANIS in Mazabuka.
Ms. Chikwanda says the driver of the Fuso Fighter truck Registration number ACT 2439 identified as Manuel Kabole is also among the dead .
Ms. Chikwanda says the driver of the truck lost control of the vehicle due to over speeding and careered off the road before hitting into Shoprite checkers building.
And Mr. Siadunka has disclosed that according to authorities at Mazabuka General Hospital 17 people were taken to the hospital dead while one passenger died upon arrival at the health institution.
Mr. Siadunka has further disclosed that five other passengers have been admitted to the hospital in a critical condition.
He says the hospital is planning to evacuate the five casualties who sustained broken bones to the University Teaching Hospital for specialist treatment.
Mr. Siadunka has revealed that the 23 passengers on board the Fuso truck all of whom are residents of John Laing compound in Lusaka were travelling to Lochinvar fishing camp in Monze District where they were going to buy fish.
A check by ZANIS at Mazabuka Shoprite checkers found part of the building where the truck managed to stop from completely razed with employees clearing the rabble.
The bodies of the 18 accident victims are laying in Mazabuka General hospital mortuary.
Very sad that lives have been lost. The idea of ferrying people in trucks and that at night is wrong.
Relevant authorities need to look into this matter and ensure that such accidents are prevented. Instead of setting up speed traps and road blocks during day time just to get bribes, Traffic Police and their colleagues from RTSA need to be more vigilant in the night time.
“The eighteen people including ten males, five females and three children died on the spot”
May the Lord rest their souls in eternal peace.
Now LT, do the children represent a non-male/non-female gender?
Shoprite Mazabuka is at a very wrong spot. It is on a steep curve (almost 90 degree turn to the left, driving from Lusaka to Monze) and the space between road and Mazabuka Shoprite is under 30 meters. City council shall take appropriate steps to demolish the front of shoprite and making enough space for motorists to maneuver, introduce speed breakers (not high bumps but steady flat kinkered road starting from filling station till 100 meters on the other side of the road, white and yellow road diversion signs on the front of Shoprite and barrier of tyres behind the diversion sign of at least 10 meters strength to provide enough cushion to any vehicle that still drives straight into shoprite direction instead of turning to the left.
@ Bhagoo
I hailed from Mazabuka in the 1970s a truck over turned on that same junction. While I appreciate some of your concern, I disagree with space. There is footpath between shoprite and the main road leading to Namulonga. It is ok, the problem is that those vehicle are NOT inspected yearly. Brake defects and down hill speeding or tired drivers, sleeping behind the wheels is to blame.
I remember in early 2000 a vehicle had driven straight into shoprite. I think Bhagoo has valid suggestions and human error will always be there and taking measures to protect against those errors of judgement or driving under influence of drug, alcohol or fatigue will result in similar situations. There is no harm in taking preventive measures at the black spot.
DANDY CRAZY AND HIS FRIENDS FROM DONT KUBEBA CAMP
This is a black spot. Something needs to be done.
That stretch of road need serious SPEED CALMING humps constructed.
It’s a very dangerous section to be left to Driver awareness alone.
The speed limiting humps should only allow a vehicle to move at a MAXIMUM of 20km/h.
They need to build a ring road around the town of Mazabuka so that all the heavy vehicles should avoid using this steep road. If not, let them move shoprite from there and pack the area with lots of sand to stop heavy loaded vehicles. It’s very easy for the brakes on a loaded truck to heat up quickly and stop functioning while descending a slope.
Oops 0100hrs is time to sleep not driving simbayambaya. That place where shop rite used to be a bus station long before but was moved due to its vulnerability to accidents. A shop built directly ahead of a. Steep slope!Hope the new Kitwe mall shop rite won’t have such direct hits from the chandamali traffic. Wishing comfort to the families who lost their kib and kith
How many lives should be lost at that point before something is done. There is a blueprint for a ring road that was done when austin bhebe was director planning. That road should have been part of linkzambia 8000.
Our police shld also be providing empirical explanations to these accident. How do they say it is due to over speeding like its only the driver to blame.
Correct scientific analyses will help push people to think.
It is not the first time we are losing lives there.
What we need is a road bypass. That steep descent is a death trap that will continue to claim lives.
This Easter Monday Disaster must be the last tragedy caused by this dangerous road descent.
Condolescence to the bereaved families. What a sudden turn of events on Easter monday? LT reveals poor journalism ten males, five females ………….and children. Are the children of a THIRD gender? Lets be realistic.
point of correction. 12 males. 3 females and 3 male children.
MTSRIP.
ZAMBIAN AUTHORITIES NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE ME. IN THIS DAY AND AGE PEOPLE ARE STILL FERRIED IN LORRIES! CAN’T IT BE UNLAWFUL TO FERRY PEOPLE ON TRUCKS? WHAT DOES THE ROAD TRAFFIC AGENCY DO IF IT IS ROCKET SCIENCE FOR THEM TO SEE THE DANGER OF FERRYING LIVE HUMANS BEINGS ON LORRIES? PRO-ACTIVE IN ZAMBIA IS SOMETHING JUST NOT THERE. SOMEONE NOW WILL START TO SUGGEST MAKING IT ILLEGAL TO FERRY PEOPLE ON LORRIES. BEFORE, LOSS OF LIFE THIS IS A FAR CRY OR JUST NON EXISTENCE.
Do zambian politicians care of poor people?all what they do is say rubish stuff in the media?Road safety solution can be sorted out easily.no tructs carry people if found the owner will face imprisonment of not less than 10yrs or fine of not less than 20000k.all black spot sign post should be visible And rumps put atleast 1km .social reforms dont require alot money.
Some pipo in the opposition r behind this tragedy,they know themselves
I grow up in mazabuka and many accidents have happened at the same spot. Governments come and Governments go no proper planing on what must be done here. This is not fair because we will continue losing life here. Can pf government do an assessment and do something about this point. This road is steep slop from the hill and if the vehicle has no proper brakes hence the accident. Big humps must be constructed here as an immediate solution…
@Mwila:Table your evidence to justify your allegations if you are man enough.
I thought something has been done about this situation….when shoprite was built in 1998 there was an accident within the first week….the idea of building a ring road around town is a good idea. The road is way to steep all the way fro the golf course…its over a kilometer and brakes a prone to over heat and malfunction…and that ninety degrees turns to either sides…!!!
There r big humps there. How did he avoid those? This vehicle not have breaks.
Pf can’t build a ring road in mazabuka. Firstly, because it is not in muchinga and secondly it is a UPND area. Just forget. It can’t happen.
If the alternative route that goes west from Munali hills and runs on flat ground throughout was tarred, all these continuous deaths and damage to property would have been alleviated as trucks would use it. Put economic planning ahead of politics please.
Who are u kidding u folks with ur comments….zambia is jus a disaster in every sense…from the top to the bottom….be it any organisation….all these rtsa ,,,, zambia police traffic….are there to make money for themselves….infact these rtsa guys in their hondas…when are they even seen during the day…ppl seen are the corrupt white hat guys with red eyes looking like kaponyas mounting unnecessary road blocks…where wher they last thursday during 1700 hrs…they cudnt control the traffic dat day n went into hiding….zambia gots its independence too early….surely we wernt dat ripe….
18 people dead and I dont see any comment from government officials?
did the police officer ask the driver to carry the passengers?
That road passing very close to the shopright building is very dangerous regardless of what sort of vehicle the people are using. Can the authorities please find means of diverting the road away from there a or completely erase the building. How can the building be so close to a busy road really? It is high time that villagers are also educated on the dangers of using trucks as a mode of transport. Can we bring back chitima and UBZ for our citizenry instead of the doomed airline some folks are pushing for. MTSRIP!
Sad indeed. How are police officers allowing such trucks pass road blocks at night? Are we going back to those old days when nchekelako was the language? Lets be serious.
Zambian drivers don’t learn. councils are us-e.le.ss. That place has caused a lot of accidents. speed sign should have been put up. speed humps should have been put up too. Accident barriers should have been put up too. the ZWD reported this accident and have reported another bad one in Zambia. there’s confusion in Zambia on every level. something needs to be done to halt these accidents which result in deaths.