Photos of the dead bodies lining up for identification purposes at the Wabag General Hospital yesterday evening.
Six people were instantly killed and others critically injured after gun men open fired on a travelling 26 seater Public Motor Vehicle (PMV) bus at Tambitanis village near Surinki along the electoral border of the Wabag and Lagaip districts yesterday afternoon.
A local councillor who wished to remain anonymous said the gunmen were relatives of two deceased who were killed last week in Laiagam.
He said the gunmen who blocked the main Highlands Highway signaled the driver to stop but the driver refused and kept on driving resulting in shooting the driver who died after excessive loss of blood.
He added that after the driver was shot, gunmen indiscriminately open fired on the passengers resulting in the death of the other five passengers as they alleged that these passengers were their enemies trying to escape when the driver didn’t stop the bus when told to.
According to the village leader who was an eyewitness at the scene, he mentioned that a man from the local area drove the bus with the dead bodies and injured into Wabag General Hospital in the evening which is approximately an hour drive from the scene.
The dead bodies were lined up outside the outpatient area of the Wabag General Hospital to be identified while the critically injured were attended to by health workers on night shift.
A media brief from the Provincial Police Commanders Chief Superintendent Fred Yakasa and State of Emergency Controller Acting ACP Joseph Tondop will be made available soon.
