W hat started as a trip to take a dead body for burial in Mulanje ended in tragedy yesterday after a minibus driver died and several others sustained injuries following a head-on collision with a hearse.
The accident occurred at St Theresa Catholic Parish near Nguludi Turn-off along Robert Mugabe Highway in Chiradzulu District.
In an interview yesterday, Chiradzulu Police officer-in-charge Henry Kalungu said the Mthunzi Funeral Services hearse was travelling from Blantyre towards Mulanje when it collided head-on with the minibus coming from the opposite direction.
“The minibus driver died, while some occupants of both vehicles sustained injuries and were taken to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) in Blantyre,” he said.
Kalungu said police were still gathering information to establish the identities of those involved in the accident and their conditions.
In a separate interview, QECH director Patrick Kamalo confirmed that the hospital received victims of the accident.
However, he asked for more time to provide details on the number of people admitted and their conditions.
In a statement issued last evening, Old Mutual Malawi Limited sustainability and corporate affairs manager Phillip Dzikanyanga confirmed that one of Mthunzi’s vehicles was involved in a road accident yesterday.
He said the company was cooperating fully with the authorities and will provide further updates should it be appropriate to do so.
“The circumstances surrounding the accident are currently being investigated by the relevant authorities and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment further on the details of the incident at this stage,” reads the statement.
Dzikanyanga also extended condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives and wished quick recovery to those injured.
When contacted, Dzikanyanga said the company had nothing further to comment beyond the statement.
Mthunzi Funeral Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of Malawi Stock Exchange-listedOld Mutual Malawi Limited.
