4 escape death as car plunges into river

January 28, 2017

4 escape death as car plunges into river

Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
FOUR people escaped death when a Mazda B1800 they were travelling in fell into a flooded Gweru River along the Gweru- Matobo Road yesterday.

The vehicle, according to the Gweru Chief Fire Officer Mr Emmanuel Musemwa, fell into the flooded river when the driver failed to negotiate a narrow bridge.

He said the incident occurred at around 11AM at the Gweru River bridge. Four people who were in the vehicle survived due to the heroic efforts by fellow motorists who jumped into the flooded river and rescued them.

“These people are lucky to be alive but it’s sad that the driver attempted to cross the bridge which was flooded. The four were taken to Gweru Provincial Hospital for monitoring by medical staff. We encourage motorists and members of the public to desist from crossing flooded rivers. They should wait for water levels to drop because if it wasn’t for the alert motorists, we could have lost four lives,” he said.

When The Chronicle arrived at the scene, members of the Gweru Fire Brigade were attempting to retrieve the vehicle which had been swept some few metres down the river.

Ms Seletina Mucheki (21) one of the survivors said she was travelling with her husband Mr Itayi Chafa (28), their daughter Nancy (2) and the vehicles’ driver offered them a lift.

Ms Mucheki — a member of Zion Christian Church — said they boarded the vehicle near Ascot Stadium as they intended to go to Arizona 43 Farm, some 40km from Gweru. She said when they got to the bridge; some motorists had parked their vehicles waiting for the water to subside.

“Since I was at the back I don’t know what the driver thought but I saw him driving across the bridge. Before I knew it, the vehicle started swerving to the right side. I then saw that we were being pushed by the waters in the bridge and I got hold of my daughter. I started praying to the God of Samuel, Anginas and Nehemiah and I felt calm. I knew we were going to survive and here we are. We thank God for this miracle,” he said.

— @pchitumba1