Cameroon: Predatory road claims 9 lives and leaves one injured in a second ghastly accident within a week

By David Atangana

At least 9 people have died and one injured in another ghastly accident on the Muea-Ekona road, Buea in the South West region of Cameroon.

The accident occurred on the evening of Friday, December 16, 2022, following a collision between a transport bus and a heavy-duty truck.

Eyewitness accounts say eight people died on the spot while one died after being rushed to a health facility. One victim remains in hospital receiving medical attention.

“This happen last night at about 8:30pm at Musaka between Muea and Ekona just after the Hysacam dumping area,” an eye witness told MMI narrating that, “a minivan coming from Kumba collided with a truck that was coming from Buea. This happened at the HYSACAM dumpsite.”

“Eight passengers in the minivan including the driver popularly called Alhaji died on the spot”, the eye witness went on saying, “The other two were rushed to the regional hospital where one sadly died.”

The accidents have been blamed on a number of factors, the key among which is the bad nature of roads in Cameroon. According to one social commentator, Jerome Fonyuy, a combination of bad roads, lack of safety measures and poor driving has made Cameroonian roads one of the highest causes of deaths:

“The roads in Cameroon are one of the most hazardous I have ever seen. This coupled with the fact that there are few road signs and poor road safety measures, the roads tend to kill more people than most popular diseases. Drivers also share some of the blame, as they drive with reckless abandon, some under the influence of alcohol,” explains Mr. Fonyuy.

Another factor advanced is that the presence of an incineration site of the Hygiene and Sanitation Company (HYSACAM) along the road has become a deathtrap to vehicles plying the road.

This is the second deadly accident in the same area this week — the previous collision claimed at least eight lives.

But HYSACAM officials have reacted. An official of the company told Mimi Mefo Info that: “Burning of waste has never and will never be a waste treatment method for Hysacam.”

The accident that has left many locals in shock.

A report on the exclusive reaction of HYSACAM comes up shortly!