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OVER 90 PASSENGERS CHEAT DEATH AS BUS CATCHES FIRE

By Sabelo Majola | 2018-09-10

Passengers of Emazizi Transport came face-to-face with death when the bus they were travelling in caught fire.

The incident happened at the traffic circle at Mhlabubovu, the road junction that intersects Mankayane, Bhunya and Malkerns, yesterday.

Emazizi are under the same business umbrella with Thuthuka Bus service.

The bus is alleged to have been overloaded, carrying over 90 passengers from Mankayane heading to Manzini via Nhlangano.

A source revealed that the bus’ load was so heavy that its alignments gave in, thus causing the vehicle to go up in flames, just after going down the hill steep towards Mhlabubovu.

Alignment refers to an adjustment of a vehicle’s suspension, the system that connects a vehicle to its wheels.

“It started out as smoke then there was suddenly a flame from the wheels but because there was no fire extinguisher in the bus, it was hard to put out the flame. People quickly jumped out of the bus and no one was hurt,” said the source.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Phindile Vilakati confirmed the accident.

She said fortunately there were no injuries reported as the passengers were all able to jump out of the up in flames bus before they could intensify. However, the fire did gain momentum and by the time the Fire and Emergency personnel arrived, the bus had been burnt beyond recognition.

The firemen were able to put out the fire and move the remains away from the road.

This is not the first time the Mkhumane owned buses make headlines as back in April; Thuthuka Bus Service failed to make it up a steep hill in Mankayane and was involved in an accident.

The bus that had about 90 passengers aboard was involved in the accident on its way to Ngwemphisi from Manzini and about 18 passengers were rushed to Mankayane Government Hospital. The bus developed mechanical problems while ascending the hill.

The bus was on top of the hill when suddenly the engine cut and when the driver tried to change down to the lowest gear, it failed, resulting in the bus wheeling down the hill and when he tried to apply brakes, the engine pump and rear tyres burst.

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