ZUPCO and Unifreight buses accident (January 2015)

ZUPCO and Unifreight buses accident (January 2015)
Wreckage of the ZUPCO bus after it collided with a Unifreight bus on 18 January 2015
Details
Date	3 August 1991
Time	Afternoon
Location	35km peg: Harare-Nyamapanda Highway
Country	Zimbabwe
Bus operator	ZUPCO, Unifreight/Pioneer
Bus owner	ZUPCO, Pioneer
Cause	speeding
Statistics
Deaths	25
Injuries	45
Damage	both busses

The ZUPCO and Unifreight buses accident (January 2015) is a major road traffic accident that occurred on the afternoon of Sunday, 18 January 2015, along the Harare - Nyamapanda highway, at the 35 km peg. Two buses, one belonging to Unifreight and the other to national bus company, ZUPCO sideswiped. 21 people were killed on the spot while 4 other people were declared dead on arrival at hospital. 45 people were seriously injured and taken to Parirenyatwa and Harare hospitals.^[1]

Accident Details

The Unifreight bus was headed the Harare Direction and the ZUPCO bus the Nyamapanda direction. Both drivers are said to have been speeding, however, what caused the accident is that the Unifreight bus encroached onto the ZUPCO bus's lane. The ZUPCO bus was damaged more severely than the Unifreight one.

The state declared the accident a national disaster due to the unusual number of casualties. The government represented by the minister of local government minister Ignatius Chombo promised to assist the families with assistance in the form of cash and kind. Acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa also issued an official statement of condolences to the bereaved families. Minister Chombo, Obert Mpofu and the Provincial Minister for Mashonaland East Province Ricky Mawere also visited the injured at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare. In his statement, Mnangagwa was quoted in The Herald saying; "Following consultations, government has declared the Harare- Nyamapanda accident a state of disaster, amove that should see government extending support to the affected families by way of sharing burial responsibilities....I urge citizens, groups and communities of goodwill to join hands with government and extending any kind of support to the affected families, so the late departed are given a befitting send off."^[2]