Seven killed, nine injured in city road accident

At least seven people died on the spot today in Kigali’s Kicukiro District in a road accident that involved 13 cars, Police have said. The accident, which happened at around 10a.m in a busy trading centre that has a bus stop and a stage for commercial motorcyclists, known as Kicukiro-Centre, occurred when a Mercedes-Benz truck, registration number RRA 124S, experienced break failure as it descended from the Gahanga area laden with sand, Police Spokesperson Celestin Twahirwa told The New Times. The ill-fated truck as it offloaded sand before being towed away from the accident scene. (Faustin Niyigena) A police officer at the scene of the accident that occurred at around 10a.m on Friday in the busy Kicukiro-Centre trading centre. (Faustin Niyigena) A Royal Express bus was one of the 13 vehicles involved in the accident. (Faustin Niyigena) The driver of the ill-fated truck is among the deceased, he said. Nine other people were injured in the process, he added. The truck hit several cars before ramming into a passenger bus. Police firefighters wash the scene of the grisly accident that shocked many eyewitnesses. (Faustin Niyigena) Police offload the sand from the Mercedes-Benz truck whose breaks failed, causing the deaths of at least seven people and injuring at least nine others in the busy Kicukiro-Centre trading centre. (Faustin Niyigena) The truck hit this Royal Express bus which was parked awaiting passengers before ramming into another bus. Here, Police were trying to remove the bus that had plunged into a nearby construction site. (Faustin Niyigena) Both the injured and bodies of the victims have since been taken to the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK), Twahirwa said. The wreckage of Royal Express bus hit by the truck which experienced complete break failure. (Faustin Niyigena) The wreckage of the KBS passenger bus that was hit by the truck. (Faustin Niyigena) Volunteers carry a commercial motorcycle that was hit in the wake of the accident. A couple of taxi-moto riders are believed to have been killed in the dreadful incident. (Faustin Niyigena) Volunteers clear wreckage and broken glasses at the scene of the accident in Kicukiro. (Faustin Niyigena) Soon after the accident severely mutilated bodies of victims strewn on the scene of the accident were circulated on social media platforms, especially on the WhatsApp messaging service. Police are yet to release the identities of the victims. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Seven killed, nine injured in city road accident