Bus falls in a ditch, scores injured

AN unconfirmed number of passengers reportedly suffered varying degrees of injuries, some with fractures after a CAG Travellers Bus going to Binga from Bulawayo failed to go up the steep ascent on Gwayi River and fell into a ditch.

The accident occurred Sunday afternoon on the Cross Dete-Binga road.

Preliminary reports from the police said there were no fatalities, but a number of passengers had been injured.

The whereabouts of the driver were reportedly unknown after he reportedly jumped off through the window when the bus started reversing after failing to go up the steep road.

However, the bus was blocked by trees as it reportedly headed towards the nearby flooded Gwayi river in reverse, sources at the scene told NewZimbabwe.com.

"The bus failed to ascend at the bridge and started reversing towards the flooded river. It fell down some trees and was eventually blocked by a big tree before it fell into a ditch injuring people, but there are no fatalities so far but passengers are complaining about fractures and are still being rescued. We will know details when the team on the ground sends updates," a police source said.

Those seriously injured were rushed to the nearby Kamativi Hospital and St Patricks Hospital in Hwange.

Police were reportedly still busy rescuing other passengers with the help of health teams from Hwange and Dete.

This is the second time the same bus company has been involved in an accident in a space of two months. In October, a bus from CAG Travellers hit a donkey-drawn cart killing a juvenile boy travelling in the cart on the spot near Cross Dete.

Police investigations established that the driver was speeding.