Local News

Lorry ramms into bar, kills two

Kinondoni Special Zone Regional Police Commander, Mr Charles Kenyela, inspects the damaged KMM Bar building which was hit by a truck of Scania make with registration numbers T 376 AZH and later knocked a commuter bus with registration numbers T 761 AJC at the Wazo Hill and Bagamoyo road intersection at Tegeta Kibaoni, Dar es Salaam on Thursday, killing two people and injuring eight others. (Photo by Mohamed Mambo)

TWO people died while eight others got injured when a lorry hit a commuter bus before ramming into a bar at Tegeta Kibaoni in the municipality of Kinondoni on Thursday.

The Kinondoni Regional Police Commander (RPC), Mr Charles Kenyela, confirmed that the accident occurred at about 11:00 am and that two out of the eight wounded passengers were in critical condition.

Eyewitnesses told the 'Daily News' that the incident occurred when a lorry with registration number T 376 AZH which was turning to Bagamoyo Road from Wazo Hill lost control and smashed a commuter bus (T761 AJC) which was  picking up passengers in the area.

The eyewitnesses said that after hitting the bus the lorry rammed into a bar popularly known as Kmm killing a food vendor (mama ntilie), Halima Salum, who is aged between 34 and 40 years. She was seated outside the bar selling food. Hamis Bakari, an eyewitness, said that a man whose name could not be established died on the spot when the lorry knocked him. He was speaking on his cellphone when he got hit.

"I was on the other side of the road when I saw the lorry veer off the road. It hit a daladala which had pulled up at the area to pick passengers up. In few seconds I realized that two people had died. One of them was a woman who had been selling food to us," he said.

According to commander Kenyela, the government had directed all commuter bus drivers and traders at Kibaoni to shift to Tegeta Nyuki. The buses had been warned against picking passengers at unauthorized stations but most of them seemed to ignore the order.

The RPC urged the wananchi to observe the laws and regulations without being forced as a way of avoiding accidents that claim the lives of people day after day," he said. He named the  injured as Jane Kimaro, Agness Shadrack, Stanley Shange, Anna Salute, Peter Mageyono, Ramadhani Rashid, Frank Mmari and Ewina.

Grace Kapinga, the Sister In Charge at Mwananyamala hospital's Out Patient Department (OPD) where all the injured were rushed, said that two of them were referred to Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) while the rest were treated and discharged. Abdul Mauza, a resident in the area, advised the municipal authorities to have an exit and entrance way for the Wazo Hill vehicles to prevent accidents.