Pictured: Western Highlands Provincial Police Commander Chief Superintendent John Sagom. (Supplied Image)
By Edward Luke
A tragic incident has claimed the lives of four individuals on a 25-seater bus at Paya Kona in Mt Hagen Western Highlands Province on Monday.
According to police reports, 1 female and 3 male passengers have succumbed to their death, while 28 other passengers were admitted at Mt Hagen General Hospital.
Details are still emerging, as authorities confirmed that the incident occurred at around 9 o’clock in the morning.
According to the Provincial Police Commander Chief Superintendent John Sagom, the 25-seater bus was loaded with 31 passengers that were traveling from Wabag to Mt Hagen.
He said the bus was at high speed and could not make a turn on a sharp corner due to a brake failure.
“From the assessment at the scene, it looks like the driver was speeding at that time, and when it climbed towards the hill we were there at the scene and we were unable to see the trace of the tyre. The driver couldn’t be able to control the vehicle. The vehicle hit the bricks on the side and flew off to the other side.” He said.
Sagom said, the Western Highlands Highway Patrol and the Traffic officers were on ground and did an initial investigation.
“According to Dr. John, they admitted 28 passengers, and from that 10 were admitted to surgical wards, five were in the emergency department 8 were treated and discharged from the hospital. From the accident scene, it was confirmed that two bodies were retrieved from the site, one of these two was retrieved late in the evening when I was there with my team.”she said
Sagom warned all the Public Motor Vehicle owner’s to be careful when employing their drivers on the road.
