NYANGA FIFTEEN members of the Johanne Masowe sect died, 12 of them on the spot, after a speeding commuter omnibus they were travelling in veered off the road and crashed into a roadside wall while negotiating a steep slope along the Nyanga-Nyamaropa Road yesterday morning.
Manicaland acting provincial police spokesperson Inspector Enock Chishiri confirmed the accident, adding that the 26-seater bus had 44 passengers on board.
The deceased, two infants, 10 females and three male adults, were going to a church meeting in Kadzere.
The injured were initially admitted at Regina Coeli Hospital where three died on admission before 29 others were latter transferred to Nyanga District Hospital.
Eight-nine students and teachers from Regina Coeli Secondary School perished at the same spot when the driver of a B&C bus they were travelling in failed to negotiate a curve and the bus crashed in 1991.
Police declined to identify yesterdays victims saying their next of kin were yet to be informed. Forty-four members of the Johanne Masowe sect were travelling to Kadzere area in Nyanga for a church gathering, said Chishiri.
When approaching the 32km peg along Nyanga-Nyamaropa Road at around 0030 hours on Sunday, the driver lost control of a Toyota Corsa bus.
The bus veered off the road and bumped into the roadside wall that was erected on the steep road resulting in the fatal crash that claimed 12 lives on the spot, said Chishiri. The bus belongs to a Masvingo bus operator who trades as Tafara Nago tours.
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Chishiri said police were still investigating the cause of the accident, but said initial indications were that the driver Akiel Mazanhi lost control of the bus while driving on a steep mountainous road.
We are still investigating the actual cause of the accident, but for now we have established that the driver lost control of the vehicle on a steep road.
The bus was overloaded because it had 44 passengers on board instead of 26, said Chishiri. Transporters should not be greedy because they then jeopardise peoples lives. Before travelling they should check whether their vehicles are roadworthy.
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