It rained beers in Gakenke District, yesterday, and for several residents, it was Christmas-come-early, as they took to gulping the bitter beverage like they had desires to float a boat.

It all started when a Bralirwa truck carrying beer was involved in an accident, scattering crates of the brewery products it was transporting around the scene.

Residents quickly descended on the accident scene and a passerby would have been forgiven for thinking it was manna from heaven given how the locals descended on the freebies.

While some carried crates and disappeared into pathways leading to their villages, some could not afford to ‘waste’ their precious time as they simply popped bottle corks with their teeth and gulped away a bottle after another.

The accident occurred on the Kigali-Rubavu highway when a truck carrying several Bralirwa products swerved off the road at Gashenyi Sector, at around 8am, according to Police.

Locals spent around 50 minutes taking free beer before police and other security officials arrived at the scene.

"It is not often that you get free drinks,” one man said.

He added that he and many others had no choice but to enjoy a Godsend morning feast.

Around 200 crates were destroyed.

Another man who gave his name only as Placide said by the time Police arrived some people were already drunk.

Inspector of Police Elvis Munyaneza, the Northern regional police spokesperson, said the doors of the truck flew wide opened, littering crates along the way.

Police said one person, a cyclist identified as Jean de la Paix Hagenima, was injured in the accident. He was rushed to Nemba Hospital in Gakenke.

Munyaneza said investigations were ongoing to ascertain the cause of the accident.

By press time, Bralirwa, the country’s main brewery, had not yet commented on the incident.

The accident also left a commuter taxi damaged as a result of the ‘flying’ crates of beer, according Police.

Munyaneza urged motorists to always be vigilant to avoid accidents.