A head-on collision in Namibia involving automobiles belonging to the safety companies killed 14 folks, together with 11 members of the jail service, a police officer and two civilians.
The accident came about 270km (167 miles) south of the capital, Windhoek, exterior the city of Mariental on Saturday.
“No phrases can really seize the depth of this loss,” President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah wrote on social media, praising “the souls of our fallen officers”.
Namibia has one of many highest street site visitors fatality charges on the earth.
Residence Affairs Minister Lucia Iipumbu additionally handed on her condolences and thanked those that attended the scene of the accident and the medical groups at Mariental State Hospital.
She requested that photographs from the scene not be shared.
“The ministry additional strongly appeals to members of the general public to chorus from circulating distressing and delicate photographs and movies taken from the accident scene, out of respect for the deceased, the injured and their households,” she is quoted by the Namibian newspaper as saying.
She defined that 19 folks in whole had been travelling within the two automobiles.
The police van was carrying six passengers – 5 officers and a civilian – and the Namibian Correctional Service had 13 folks on board.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah mentioned three different jail officers remained critically injured.
“We want them energy and a full restoration,” she mentioned.
Namibia’s Motor Automobile Accident Fund urged households affected to get in touch.
The federal government-sponsored car insurance coverage scheme, funded by a gasoline levy, helps street damage victims to get entry to well being care, rehabilitation and social assist.
Its CEO, Rosalia Martins-Hausiku, mentioned the fund would help with burials and medical care, discuss radio station Eagle FM reported.
Highway site visitors crashes are a severe public well being situation in Namibia, regardless that its inhabitants is comparatively low – estimated at three million.
A comparability of the statistics from 2021 reveals that Namibia had 22 street site visitors fatalities per 100,000 in comparison with 2.3 per 100,000 within the UK that yr.
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