7 die, 3 seriously injured in Ntcheu road accident
Seven people died on Thursday while three others sustained serious injuries when a freightliner truck registration NA 4075 swerved to the opposite lane, hitting three vehicles in the process at Kanyimbo area in Ntcheu District.
In an interview on Thursday evening, Ntcheu Police Station spokesperson Hastings Chigalu said out of the seven dead people, four were male while three were female.
He said out of the three injured, one was female and two were male. They were rushed to Ntcheu District Hospital.
He said: “When the driver reached the area called Kanyimbo soon after Biriwiri MRA [Malawi Revenue Authority] offices, the driver lost control of the vehicle and swerved to the other lane leading to the accident which affected about three other vehicles.
“We are yet to get more details on particulars of all those involved in the accident.”
According to Chigalu, the driver of the freightliner truck carried bales of tobacco and was coming from the direction of Ntcheu going towards Dedza.
Chigalu further said they are still assessing the accident to identify the casualties, expressing optimism that by today, they will have concluded the process.
The other vehicles involved in the accident were a Toyota Hiace minibus registration CP7947; Toyota Land Cruiser registration AJB 6824 and a Nissan Diesel Lorry BL8837.
The accident comes barely five months after a similar accident occurred at Kampepuza market in the same district in March where 20 people were killed and 31 others were injured.
The accident involved a truck which rammed into a crowd at the market. The truck had carried bags of relief maize for the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) and was heading from Lilongwe to Balaka.
In an earlier interview, head of Traffic Police Department MacPherson Matowe said while the Kampepuza incident was a sad development, like most traffic accidents, it could have been avoided.
He said although his department is mandated by law to prosecute those vending along the roads, the blame should lie elsewhere.
