THREE people died while 19 others were injured yesterday when the City Link bus they were travelling in collided with a Nissan UD lorry at the 43km peg along the Harare-Bulawayo Road near Norton.

 

The accident occurred at around 14:30pm.

Police chief spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba confirmed the accident.

 

She said the three who died were the bus driver, his co-driver and the lorry driver. Charamba said the bus was coming from Bulawayo when the driver observed a veld fire on the right side.

“A cloud of smoke had engulfed the road. The bus driver tried to pass through the smoke and in the process, had a head-on collision with the Nissan UD lorry which was travelling in the opposite direction,” she said.

 

Police said the injured people were referred to Norton and Parirenyatwa hospitals for treatment. Traffic flow along the highway was delayed for a few hours as firefighters battled to rescue some of the passengers who were still trapped in the two vehicles.

 

A manager at City Link, Gerald Matapure, said his company would provide funeral assistance. The accident happened two days after another similar road accident claimed three lives along the Harare-Masvingo Road.