GRADE 1 PUPIL DIES AS KOMBI OVERTURNS

The kombi landed in this position after the accident.

SITEKI - A Grade I pupil at Majombe Primary School in Big Bend was killed when a kombi ferrying pupils from the school overturned yesterday morning.

Police said the kombi was travelling from Big Bend to Majombe Primary School when it overturned about two kilometres before reaching its destination.

According to the police, there were 19 passengers onboard the kombi, including the driver and the conductor.
“One passenger was killed and eight sustained serious injuries while the rest escaped with minor injuries. Most of the passengers were pupils,” said Police Information and Communications Officer Assistant Superintendent Khulani Mamba.
Mamba further stated the exact cause of the accident had not yet been established.

 He said police investigations had gathered that there was a burst in one of the kombi tyres before it overturned.
Asked to confirm if the kombi was overloaded following that kombis are commonly known to have a capacity to accommodate 15 or 14 passengers yet the kombi involved in this accident had 19 people onboard, Mamba said police were still investigating.

“Most of the passengers were children between ages six to 10, so we cannot at this time say the kombi was overloaded,” he said.
Meanwhile, both pupils and teachers at Majombe Primary School were devastated upon hearing the sad news of the tragic accident.
Head teacher at the school Patrick Shongwe said both the school administration and pupils were traumatised.
He confirmed that all the passengers in the kombi were pupils at the school.

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