A female security guard was tragically killed at the Beitbridge border post on Wednesday night after being run over by a Swiss Express bus.
According to ZimLive, the bus, which was travelling from Bulawayo to Johannesburg, had parked on the Zimbabwean side of the border to allow passengers to complete passport formalities when it suddenly rolled forward around 7:30 PM.
An eyewitness reported that the bus ran over and dragged the guard, who was manning the boom gate, with its rear wheels. It only came to a stop after colliding with a concrete shade.
It is alleged that the victim remained alive for several minutes, but passersby were unable to assist as no emergency services arrived on the scene. A passenger who was travelling on the bus said:
There was a driver and one male elderly passenger on the bus at the time as everyone had disembarked to get their passports stamped.
It’s difficult to understand what happened next, some said the bus had complicated air brakes which failed, while others suspected the driver forgot to apply the handbrake and either slept or took his foot off the brake pedal causing the bus to roll forward.
I’m leaning on driver error because the bus was drivable when an officer from the Vehicle Inspection Department moved it from the boom gate.
A recovery truck was used to lift the rear of the bus, enabling police to recover the victim’s body.
The bus has since been impounded by the Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) for further investigation, while passengers were transferred to buses from other companies to continue their journey.
Swiss Express is owned by Qhubani Moyo, a Zimbabwean entrepreneur based in Johannesburg.
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