5 die in Linthipe accident
Five people died in a road accident near Linthipe III in Dedza District on Tuesday evening after a saloon they were travelling in collided with an oncoming truck.
Witnesses said the accident happened near the junction to Mtendere Campus along the Dedza-Lilongwe stretch of the M1 Road.
Dedza Police Station spokesperson Edward Kabango confirmed in an interview on Wednesday that the driver of the Toyota Passo registration MN 3401, identified as Lindiwe Mhone, and her four passengers died on the spot.
He said a Freightliner truck registration CK 2967/CA 4683 collided with Mhone’s vehicle around 7pm on Tuesday as she attempted to avoid hitting a vehicle which had stopped suddenly.
Said Kabango: “Following the impact, the driver of the Toyota Passo MN 3401 and four passengers from that vehicle died at the spot due to head injuries.”
A statement from the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College signed by Mary Wasiri as registrar identified Mhone and two other deceased persons—Suzgo Munthali and Gustino Kachingwe—as E-learning students at the institution studying programmes under Amity University and were sitting for examinations until Tuesday.
The statement said Mhone would be buried today at Area 18 cemetery in Lilongwe.
A motorist who passed by the scene of the accident said the Toyota Passo was extensively damaged that it had to be prised open with hacksaws and hoes to remove victims.
Police also said the driver of the truck, Laston Muliwa, 54, escaped unhurt. n
