Sekenke road crash leaves 12 people dead
SINGIDA: TWELVE people, including five police officers and seven detainees, were killed yesterday when a police vehicle carrying suspects to court collided head-on with a fuel tanker at the Sekenke escarpment along the Singida-Nzega highway in Iramba District, Singida Region.
Two people the tanker driver and one detainee survived the crash and were receiving treatment at Kiomboi Hospital, in Iramba District following the accident, which occurred at around 7:30am in Misigiri Village, Ulemo Ward.
Singida Regional Police Commander, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SACP) Amon Kakwale, said the police vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser with registration number PT 1982, was travelling from Shelui Police Station to Kiomboi District Court carrying eight detainees and police officers when it collided with a fuel tanker.
The tanker, with registration number RAF 243X and trailer TRL 4255, was transporting diesel from Dar es Salaam to Rwanda. SACP Kakwale said the collision occurred while the vehicles were at the steep escarpment before crashing head-on, causing both to plunge into a ditch.
He said preliminary police investigations indicated that the tanker driver lost control of the vehicle, which crossed into the opposite lane and collided with the police vehicle.
“Five police officers and seven detainees died in the crash, while two people survived with injuries,” SACP Kakwale said.
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The police officers who died were Shelui Police Station Officer-in-Charge SP Frank Lazima Mwasapili, Staff Sergeant Ussi Hassan, Sergeant Paulo Silivin Gabriel, Police Constable Ashraf Salumu Kheri and Police Constable Nangida Ramadhani Mushi.
The deceased detainees were Timotheo Lazaro Kimaro, Cassian Hassan, Fred Musuguli Mzoa, Wilfred Marko Amos, Mariam Hamis Kasijao, Vivian Saidi and Hussen Hussein Kea.
According to SACP Kakwale, the surviving detainee, Petro Organes Nkana and the tanker driver, Ndanarasa Christian Alfonse, a Rwandan national, were receiving treatment at Kiomboi Hospital.
He said the bodies of the victims had been transferred to Mandewa Regional Referral Hospital in Singida.
Iramba District Commissioner Suleiman Mwenda also confirmed the accident, saying preliminary information indicated that the tanker had experienced brake failure, while descending the Sekenke escarpment before colliding with the police vehicle.
SACP Kakwale urged motorists to observe traffic safety regulations and exercise extra caution when driving on steep sections of the road to help prevent further loss of life.
