Road accidents claim 7

By: WERNER MENGES in WINDHOEK and MAGGI BARNARD at SWAKOPMUND

FATAL accidents on Namibia's roads claimed at least seven lives this weekend.

The Police reported yesterday that five people died on the spot in

a chain collision on the main road between Okahandja and

Otjiwarongo on Friday evening.

In the Erongo Region, two people were killed in accidents over

the weekend, making this May Day long weekend the worst for the

region in the past six months in terms of fatal accidents.

 

One fatality each was recorded over the much more popular

Christmas and Easter weekends at the coast.

 

Emergency and traffic authorities at the coast agreed yesterday

that the past weekend was much quieter.

 

"It was only like a month-end weekend," a traffic officer at

Swakopmund said yesterday, referring to the number of visitors at

the town.

 

Traffic out of Windhoek was intense on Friday, though, and the

increased activity on the roads leading to the North took a deadly

toll once again on Friday evening.

 

The Namibian Police Public Relations and Liaison Division's

Chief Inspector Angula Amulungu reported yesterday that five people

were killed about 60 kilometres north of Okahandja on the B1 main

road to Otjiwarongo at between 20h30 and 21h00 on Friday.

 

The five people were travelling in the direction of Otjiwarongo

in a Toyota Venture when a trailer towed behind an oncoming vehicle

slammed into their car, Amulungu said.

 

The trailer swerved into the road lane for oncoming traffic

after the car that was pulling it had bumped into the back of

another vehicle in a chain collision involving six vehicles.

 

The driver of the Venture, his wife, and three other occupants

of their vehicle died at the accident scene.

 

Amulungu added that the driver of the vehicle that had been

towing the trailer was injured.

 

Amulungu said he could not yet release the names of the five

people, because he was not sure if their families had been notified

of their deaths.

 

In the first fatal accident to be reported in the Erongo Region

this weekend, a Swakopmund resident, Clement Julius (40) and his

13-year-old child were flung from the BMW they were travelling in

after the vehicle had overturned at around 10h00 on Saturday.

 

The car caught fire and burnt out completely.

 

Julius, travelling in the direction of Windhoek, lost control

over the vehicle about 20 km before Arandis.

 

Both he and his daughter sustained serious head injuries and

were taken to hospitals at Swakopmund by International SOS.

 

Julius died later — while he was being transferred to

Windhoek.

 

The second fatality occurred about 10 km outside Walvis Bay on

the C14 road towards Solitaire at around 17h00 on Sunday.

 

The vehicle two men of the Topnaar community were travelling in

overturned and both of them were flung out.

 

The vehicle rolled onto one of them, who died of the

injuries.

 

His name was not available yesterday.

 

Another three accidents were reported over the weekend.

 

On Saturday a Swiss tourist couple lost control of their vehicle

near the White Lady Lodge outside Uis.

 

The vehicle rolled down an embankment, injuring the woman.

 

She was flown to the Mediclinic in Windhoek.

 

A man lost control of his vehicle at the Walvis Bay traffic

circle on Saturday at around 23h50, sustaining facial injuries.

 

On Sunday at 17h00, a vehicle broke through the cable barrier at

Langstrand.

 

The driver sustained slight injuries.

 

A pedestrian sustained a leg injury in an accident at Kuisebmond

on Sunday.

 

Only one quad bike accident was reported when a Chinese tourist

injured her left shoulder in the dunes near Langstrand.

 

The ISOS 4x4 emergency response vehicle was used to retrieve her

from the dunes and transport her to the Cottage Hospital at

Swakopmund.

 

A reminder by the Walvis Bay Municipality of a by-law that

carries a fine of up to N$1 000 for illegal activities at the

coast, seemed to have been taken seriously by visitors.

 

A spokesperson of the Municipality said yesterday no serious

problems were encountered or big fines issued over the

weekend.

 

In the Erongo Region, two people were killed in accidents over the

weekend, making this May Day long weekend the worst for the region

in the past six months in terms of fatal accidents.One fatality

each was recorded over the much more popular Christmas and Easter

weekends at the coast.Emergency and traffic authorities at the

coast agreed yesterday that the past weekend was much quieter."It

was only like a month-end weekend," a traffic officer at Swakopmund

said yesterday, referring to the number of visitors at the

town.Traffic out of Windhoek was intense on Friday, though, and the

increased activity on the roads leading to the North took a deadly

toll once again on Friday evening.The Namibian Police Public

Relations and Liaison Division's Chief Inspector Angula Amulungu

reported yesterday that five people were killed about 60 kilometres

north of Okahandja on the B1 main road to Otjiwarongo at between

20h30 and 21h00 on Friday. The five people were travelling in the

direction of Otjiwarongo in a Toyota Venture when a trailer towed

behind an oncoming vehicle slammed into their car, Amulungu

said.The trailer swerved into the road lane for oncoming traffic

after the car that was pulling it had bumped into the back of

another vehicle in a chain collision involving six vehicles.The

driver of the Venture, his wife, and three other occupants of their

vehicle died at the accident scene.Amulungu added that the driver

of the vehicle that had been towing the trailer was

injured.Amulungu said he could not yet release the names of the

five people, because he was not sure if their families had been

notified of their deaths.In the first fatal accident to be reported

in the Erongo Region this weekend, a Swakopmund resident, Clement

Julius (40) and his 13-year-old child were flung from the BMW they

were travelling in after the vehicle had overturned at around 10h00

on Saturday.The car caught fire and burnt out completely.Julius,

travelling in the direction of Windhoek, lost control over the

vehicle about 20 km before Arandis.Both he and his daughter

sustained serious head injuries and were taken to hospitals at

Swakopmund by International SOS.Julius died later — while he

was being transferred to Windhoek.The second fatality occurred

about 10 km outside Walvis Bay on the C14 road towards Solitaire at

around 17h00 on Sunday.The vehicle two men of the Topnaar community

were travelling in overturned and both of them were flung out.The

vehicle rolled onto one of them, who died of the injuries.His name

was not available yesterday.Another three accidents were reported

over the weekend.On Saturday a Swiss tourist couple lost control of

their vehicle near the White Lady Lodge outside Uis.The vehicle

rolled down an embankment, injuring the woman.She was flown to the

Mediclinic in Windhoek.A man lost control of his vehicle at the

Walvis Bay traffic circle on Saturday at around 23h50, sustaining

facial injuries.On Sunday at 17h00, a vehicle broke through the

cable barrier at Langstrand.The driver sustained slight injuries.A

pedestrian sustained a leg injury in an accident at Kuisebmond on

Sunday.Only one quad bike accident was reported when a Chinese

tourist injured her left shoulder in the dunes near Langstrand.The

ISOS 4x4 emergency response vehicle was used to retrieve her from

the dunes and transport her to the Cottage Hospital at Swakopmund.A

reminder by the Walvis Bay Municipality of a by-law that carries a

fine of up to N$1 000 for illegal activities at the coast, seemed

to have been taken seriously by visitors.A spokesperson of the

Municipality said yesterday no serious problems were encountered or

big fines issued over the weekend.

---