Saturday, 15 October was a sad day at Nyanga District Hospital mortuary in Manicaland Province as heartbroken parents collected the bodies of their children who died in a bus accident on Friday night.
Police said a Tynwald High School bus veered off the road and overturned at the 75km peg along Rusape-Nyanga road near Pine Tree Hotel around 7 PM on Friday.
Six pupils, five females and one male were killed in the crash, with several others injured.
The injured were admitted to Nyanga District Hospital and Victoria Chitepo Hospital in Mutare.
Speaking in an interview with The Standard on Saturday, Nyanga South MP Supa Mandiwanzira (ZANU PF) expressed sympathy with the bereaved parents. He said:
I was there in the morning at Nyanga District Hospital where a lot of kids who were in the hospital were being collected by their parents.
Parents were still milling around at the mortuary at the Nyanga District Hospital. It was a tragic sight, very heart-breaking for parents who came to take the remains of their loved ones
Twenty-four hours earlier they did not think that they would take their young kids in coffins; no parent should go through that.
I want to express my deepest condolences to the children who also lost their friends and classmates.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said they were investigating the cause of the accident.
However, according to a leaked internal police memorandum, the driver, Chamunorwa Machimbidzofa (43), was speeding and failed to negotiate a sharp curve resulting in the crash.
The memo also revealed that Machimbidzofa was yet to produce his driver’s licence to prove that he was certified to drive a bus.
The dead are; Anesuishe Hove (14) of Bluffhill in Harare; Beyonce Guyo (15) of Madokero, Harare; Anita Manyuka (16) of Tynwald Harare; Destiny Dziva (14) of Avondale Harare; Kimberly Tarisai Mutusva (15) of Chitepo Heights, Harare and Craig Madanhire (age unknown), a male juvenile.
Police said Beyonce, Anita, Destiny, Kimberly and Craig died on the spot, while Anesuishe died upon admission at Nyanga District Hospital.