Ten people have died while 24 others sustained varying degrees of injuries after a bus they were travelling in was involved in an accident in Kasungu District on Monday night.

The accident happened on Monday night and involved a bus registration MN 6364 belonging to Matours Bus Services which was travelling from Lilongwe to Rumphi, according to Kasungu Police Station spokesperson Joseph Kachikho.

He said the bus had 66 passengers on board and on the way, it hit a stationary truck.

The wreck of the Matours bus that was involved in the accident

Said Kachikho: “The driver of the Matours Bus Services failed to control his vehicle and hit the stationary truck at full speed. As a result, both vehicles swerved to the extreme nearside where they stopped in a drainage.

“Following the impact, 10 passengers from Matours Bus Services were confirmed dead upon arrival at Nkhamenya Rural Hospital while three other passengers sustained serious injuries and were admitted to Kasungu District Hospital and the driver and other 20 passengers escaped with minor injuries.”

He said the deceased are yet to be identified and he called on the public to help in identifying the victims.

During the first half of this year, from January to June, road accidents have claimed 565 lives. The country has recorded 2 728 accidents during the same period.

National Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya yesterday said the police are concerned that so many lives continue to be lost in road accidents.

He said the police have scaled up road safety campaigns to reduce road accidents and number of the lives lost.

Said Kalaya: “So far, statistics show that the number of accidents is going down and the same applies to lives lost. When you compare the figures that we recorded in 2021, that is from January to June, to what we have recorded this year during the same period you will see that efforts to reduce accidents are working.

“In 2021, we recorded 2 997 road accidents and in those accidents 636 lives were lost. This year the lives lost are 565 and the number of accidents is 2 728.

“Road accidents claim lives and also affect those that have been left behind,” he said.

In 2021, from January to December, the country recorded 9 416 road accidents. Of those accidents, 1 226 were fatal and claimed 1 444.

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