Nyanga Bus Disaster
| Nyanga Bus Disaster | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Details | |
| Date | 3 August 1991 |
| Time | Night |
| Location | 289km from Harare, 20km from Regina Coeli School |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Bus operator | B & C |
| Cause | Speeding, Drunken Driving |
| Statistics | |
| Deaths | 88 |
The Nyanga Bus Disaster of 1991, which is also called the Regina Coeli bus disaster, happened on the night of 3 August 1991 when a bus carrying Regina Coeli students and staff members crashed about 20 km from the school. The bus was coming from a sports event held at St Killians Mission near Rusape. [1] The bus was overloaded with about 100 people, instead of the stipulated 75 passenger limit.[2] The accident is considered Zimbabwe's worst bus disaster.
How it happened
Narrations have said that the driver was drunk and he was speeding. Before the accident happened, while refuelling at Brondesbury Service Station, the driver was warned by a motorist who had been driving behind them. He did not heed the warning. The students pleaded with him to stop but he is said to have told them that he had vast experience navigating dangerous terrain, giving the Shurugwi Boterekwa as an example of roads he had experience navigating.[1]
The bus lost brakes at some point and the driver lost control. The bus overturned. The driver, conductor and loader were amoung those that were killed.[1]
Names of People on the bus
- Timothy Sagwidza
- Moses Dudzai Nyamugunduru (Survivor)
- Sheila Doto (Survivor)
- Ignatius Bukuta (Survivor)
- Liliosa Manjoro (Survivor)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cletus Mushanawani Regina Coeli survivors speak two decades on, Manica Post, Retrieved:19 January 2015, Published:24 February 2014
- ↑ Bus Crash bills 87 in Zimbabwe, NewYork Times, Retrieved:19 Jan 2015, Published:5 August 1991
