The bus left Khorixas with patients on board and a schedule that should have been routine: Outjo, then Otjiwarongo, then onward to the capital, Windhoek. It got as far as the B1 highway, a short 30 km beyond Otjiwarongo heading south, and no further.
At roughly 6am on Friday, May 1, it hit a truck head-on. Eleven people died. According to Namibia’s national broadcaster, the vehicle was carrying medical staff and patients, and Xinhua reported that it was a patient transport bus belonging to the health ministry.
What police think happened
The early police picture is mechanical in the plainest sense. Preliminary findings suggest the minibus may have struck a kudu, after which the driver lost control and veered into the oncoming truck. Under the hood of that account there is nothing exotic: an animal on a fast road at dawn, a vehicle full of passengers, a heavy truck coming the other way.
The 50-year-old bus driver was among the dead. The truck driver, who is 46, and his assistant survived. The bus caught fire on impact, and the victims’ remains were badly burned. Hours later, Namibian broadcaster NBC reported, charred remains were still lying on the roadway.
Otjiwarongo Regional Police Commander Philip Hidengwa said every one of the 11 victims had been taken from the wreck. Traffic Unit Commissioner Petrus Swartz said recovery was being done with care. “The scene is delicate, as the bodies need to be removed carefully and transported to Windhoek for further analysis,” he said.
A bad week on Namibian roads
Help came up from Windhoek: police forensic investigators led by Commissioner Nelius Becke, plus officials of the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund. Identification work and the investigation into the exact cause continue.
It was not the only crash that week. On Wednesday night, eight people had died when a minibus and a truck met head-on on the road between Arandis and Swakopmund in the Erongo Region. The Motor Vehicle Accident Fund voiced concern over the run of deaths and urged drivers to take care, especially in periods of heavier travel.
Sources
- 11 killed in bus-truck collision in Namibia (KBC Digital)
- At least 11 killed in Namibia ambulance-truck crash, police probe possible wildlife link (Xinhua)
- At least 11 dead in head-on bus-truck collision in central Namibia (ILKHA)
