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Temba Dube, Senior Reporter
A total of 10 passengers were injured, three of them seriously, when passengers broke windows and jumped out of a burning bus that was going down the slope without the driver at Esigodini yesterday. The dramatic incident occurred about 30km along the Bulawayo-Esigodini Road at about 12 noon.

The Zupco bus heading for Gutu in Masvingo from Bulawayo, reportedly developed an unspecified fault and caught fire.

A passenger who was among about 40 others who miraculously escaped without injuries, said a number of women threw their small children out of the bus.

“The bus seemed to have a fault when it left Renkini in Bulawayo.

“A mechanic was called when we reached Ascot Shopping Centre and he attended to some noise that was coming from the engine. When we were at the area commonly known as Danger that has steep slopes, smoke started billowing from the engine. The driver got off to check what was happening,” said the passenger who declined to be named.

Another passenger, Mrs Tariro Zinyoro (26) said the driver left the handbrake on but soon after he got out of the bus, there was an explosion and the bus started moving.

“People started screaming as flames appeared from the front of the bus. Some passengers broke windows and jumped out of the moving bus. Smoke filled the bus. I grabbed my five-year-old daughter and threw her out of the moving bus. I had my 17-month-old baby strapped to my back but I could not escape,” said Mrs Zinyoro.

She said there was another explosion and screams in the bus became louder as passengers scrambled to get to the door.

“I saw a number of people who had jumped from the bus lying on the road and I thought they were dead. The bus came to a halt by the side of the road and we jostled for the door. However, that would not open. The flames were spreading to the rest of the bus and the heat was unbearable. Just when I thought I would die with my baby, the door opened and hands started pulling us out of the bus,” said Mrs Zinyoro.

She said she spent about 10 minutes looking for her daughter whom she had thrown onto the road and was relieved when she located her uninjured.
Another passenger said it was the driver who opened the door, after catching up with the bus.

People who were at the scene said the bus was later  engulfed in flames but by then all the passengers had been rescued.

“The Fire Brigade arrived soon after and put out the fire.  If they had delayed, the fire could have burnt acres of forest, including nearby homes.

Three ambulances arrived and rushed the injured to hospital. A number of private motorists also used their vehicles to rush some of the injured to hospital,” said a witness.

The bus was reduced to a shell.

Contacted for comment, police spokesperson for Matabeleland South, Assistant Inspector Christopher Ngwenya, said four of the passengers were admitted to Esigodini District Hospital while six were admitted to  United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH).

“Of those taken to UBH, two are suspected of having sustained serious internal injuries and a third person had severe head injuries,” said Asst Insp Ndebele.