Commission investigates bus crash in Mozambique that killed 23 people

A commission created by the Mozambique National Institute of Road Transport (Inatro), together with the police and the Mozambique Road Network (Revimo), is investigating the circumstances of the accident that killed 23 people in the center of the country on Sunday.

Inatro president Chinguane Mabote said the commission would conduct an expert review and report on the accident, which also injured 49 people, following a head-on collision between a bus it was allegedly overtaking incorrectly and a truck. , on National Road 6 (N6), in Mafambissa, Sofala Province.

“Let’s move on to the final consequences because what happened here is practically what we can call road terrorism, there is no other explanation for who is behind the wheel and responsible for transporting people,” Mabote said in a speech before journalists in the capital Beira. province of Sofala.

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi expressed regret over the accident on Monday, calling for action to stop the scourge.

“We urge all of us to do something to prevent deaths like this from happening,” Nyusi said during a visit to Inhambane province in the south of the country.

“Through you, I want to mourn the loss of 23 Mozambicans at the administrative post of Mafambisse, victims of an accident, a collision between two cars, a passenger bus with 94 people and a truck (…). The explanation they give us at the moment is: speeding and illegal overtaking, especially by a vehicle carrying people. We have three of them. [feridos] very serious, the remaining 66 with minor injuries, but there were marks on their bodies,” he explained.

23 people died on a Dondo Public Transport (TPD) bus.

According to authorities, the accident occurred on the National Road 6 (N6) in the Dondo district of Sofala province on Sunday evening while overtaking, when the bus collided with a heavy vehicle traveling in the opposite direction.

“I don’t know how much people are in a hurry. The bus has no point in rushing, it has a schedule (…) what it wants from these overtakings, and we lost 23 compatriots at once,” Nyusi criticized.

Mozambique police said the accident that killed 23 people in Sofala province was caused by the negligence of a bus driver.

“Yes, there was negligence on the part of the driver. [do autocarro]”, explained Cassimo Ali from the Provincial Command of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) of Beira, explaining that of the 23 dead, including three children, 17 died on the spot and the rest died on the way to the Central Hospital of Beira.

Mozambique has recorded more than 4,800 deaths due to road traffic accidents in the past five years, according to data released May 22 by the Mozambican government, which calls for public participation in the fight against the scourge.

“The road safety situation in Mozambique is very alarming, as in the last five years, for example, 4,812 people have died on our roads in 5,459 road accidents,” said Ambrosio, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Shitoe.