Five survive head-on collision

Rwamagana- Three passengers and two drivers survived miraculously, after a Tanzania registered heavy goods truck and a Rwandan registered pick-up were involved in a head-on collision yesterday. The trailer travelling from Rusumo border, lost control, after its brakes failed and hit an oncoming Toyota Pick-up that was heading to the Gahara sector in Kirehe District. The accident, which left hundreds of on-lookers speechless, occurred in Musha, just few kilometres to Kigali at 3pm. Three occupants of the pick-up were admitted at Rwamagana District Hospital in serious conditions. The occupants o the trailer are said to be stable.Superintendent Alex Rutabayiru the District Police Commander (DPC) of Rwamagana, who arrived at the scene immediately, said the cause of the accident had not yet been known, but suspected brake failure. “These trailers travel many kilometres...over 2000 kilometres nonstop, and that can be dangerous. Be it the brakes or the driver, they get tired by the time they approach the final point of their destination in Rwanda,” he said. Police said that the Musha corners along the road, which are known to be black spots, had been saved for some long without seeing such ugly incidents. “We took stern measures to stop the trailers and give them time to check their vehicles and themselves. But this is done in the evenings, and this particular one, happened a little bit early”. An eyewitness, Jean Claude Habyarimana, said the trailer came from a distance, hooting before it hit the pick-up, adding that onlookers left their houses and businesses and rushed to the scene of the accident. “The pick-up gave way for the trailer, which had lost control... unfortunately, it hit the pick-up. We pulled the survivors out of the debris. This is a black spot...so many accidents and so many deaths are witnessed here,” he decried.Medics at Rwamagana hospital say that some victims were under intensive care and may be transferred to Kigali. Ends