2018-01-09Staff Report 2 Aron Mushaukwa Katima Mulilo-Nine people died in accidents that occurred yesterday at Ondangwa and Kikiya village in Zambezi Region, bringing a dark shadow on what was anticipated to be a festive season of fewer accidents than the past few years. Yesterday at Kikiya village in Sibbinda Constituency, three people died on the spot while two others died on the way to hospital after an overloaded minibus they were travelling in left the road and overturned. Three other people sustained serious injuries in the accident. Police Regional Deputy Commissioner Evans Simasiku confirmed the incident to New Era yesterday – saying a Toyota Noah, authorised only to take seven passengers, was travelling from Linyanti to Katima Mulilo with eight passengers on board. It overturned on the Linyanti-Sangwali road allegedly after it suffered a puncture of the right rear tyre, resulting in the driver losing control. The vehicle has the registration number N522KM, police confirmed. Simasiku said the vehicle rolled four times before it came to a standstill. As a result three people lost their lives on the spot. They were identified as 71-year-old Fidelis Mukusi, 19-year-old Isaac Kazanga, and Iuze Maata, aged 21. Mubita Ndozi (age unknown), and another male whose identity was not yet known, died on the way to hospital. The driver of the vehicle, 33-year-old Chilinda Litoli, is one of the three survivors and is reportedly in a stable condition. The other survivors are Muhau Siyambiso, 21, and 13-year-old Mukusi Masule, who were both said to be in a critical condition. Simasiku cautioned passengers to always check the condition of the vehicle before they board. “Passengers should check the condition of the vehicle and observe at what speed the driver is driving. In this case the vehicle was not only overloaded with an extra person, but it was also overloaded with goods,” he said. At Ondangwa, four people died on the spot yesterday after the two vehicles they were travelling in collided, Nampa reports. The accident happened at around 10h00 when a sedan and pickup vehicle belonging to the Northern Electricity Distributor (Nored) crashed head-on. Sergeant Frieda Shikole of the Oshana police public relations unit confirmed the incident to Nampa in a telephone interview the same day. According to her, the emergency services had to use the ‘Jaws of Life’ to extract the occupants of the sedan. “The four deceased people include three females and one male, with the oldest being a 35-year-old woman and the youngest being a four-year-old boy,” Shikole said. Two people including the driver of the pickup were transported to the Oshakati State Hospital for treatment. Shikole said, at the time of the interview, that it was still unclear how many people altogether were travelling in the two vehicles. The deceased have been identified – however their names could not be revealed as their next of kin were yet to be informed. Police investigations continue. – Additional reporting by Nampa 2018-01-09Staff Report 2
