FOUR Unki Mine workers died and 68 others were injured yesterday when the bus they were travelling in fell off a bridge and plunged into Mutevekwi River near the Boterekwa gorge in Shurugwi.
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An Unki Mine source said the bus was carrying 72 mine workers home after a night duty stint and the driver is suspected to have slept as he approached the narrow bridge and then lost control of the bus.
“Only one vehicle at a time can pass through that bridge and we suspect that the driver slept because the bus climbed the concrete slab on one side of the bridge and the driver managed to control it back onto the road, but it then went on to climb the slabs on the other side of the bridge,” said the source.
“The wheels of the bus exploded and the passengers panicked and in their rush to escape to safety, the stampeding then resulted in the bus plunging into the river leaving four people dead and three critically injured,” the source said.
National police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi confirmed that an Unki Mine bus plunged off a bridge and into the river at around 5:30am along the mine road just off the Gweru-Zvishavane main road, killing four workers on the spot and injuring the rest.
Nyathi said three were critically injured and airlifted to Harare while 30 seriously injured workers were admitted at Gweru Provincial Hospital and Shurugwi Hospital with the rest admitted in other health centres around the Midlands province.
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“The Zimbabwe Republic Police would like to confirm that four Unki Mine workers died on the spot yesterday morning,” he said.
“The bus was travelling along Unki mine road off Gweru-Zvishavane main road and hit the bridge rails and plunged into the river.” Nyathi said investigations were continuing to ascertain the exact cause of the accident.
