Monday, 4/13: Today I have off for the Easter Holiday the same as most Basotho. The holiday's always see an increase in customers riding public transport from Maseru headed out to Semonkong. A line of hundreds has formed since the early hours of the morning with people headed back to Maseru and elsewhere. The bus companies try to keep up with the swell in the number of people but inevitably fall short, but attempting to accommodate in a timely manner isn't always the safest.
Proof of this occurred this morning between 7:30 and 8am about thirteen miles (about 20 km) outside of Semonkong when one of the buses went off the side of the road and halfway down an embankment.
It was a fairly straight stretch with slight bends and a strong upward grade. This kept the bus at low speeds. Looking at the site, it is a thankful wonder how the bus didn't begin to role side over side. Instead, it ran into two large boulders about 50 feet down the embankment where it rests with a strong lean on its left side. The front end took most of the damage due to careening into the boulder that stopped the bus.
There were many injuries but mostly everything was minor. Reportedly, four people including the driver were in pretty bad shape with injuries to the back and legs. Others had arms, legs, and feet that needed x-rays to determine if they were, in fact, broken. Most others had bruising and abrasions that were treated at the site and again looked at here in the Mission's clinic to identify where stitches were needed.
Fortunately, we can say it could have been worse and only hope that everyone recovers.
I was running up the road at the time and when I reached the site it was a mess of people all standing and staring at the bus below. It was about an hour after it happened and the first vehicles taking the injured passed me just as I reached that last hill.
Everyone was very shaken up. There were still those that had serious injuries when I arrived but were forced to wait for additional transportation. One family from Cape town that I had met at the Lodge a couple nights before did stop and had a first aid kit to help patch up people and clean injuries while they waited. It was a really awful feeling to know I couldn't help treat people once there were supplies available. I'm still not too sure how I feel about that Peace Corps rule but at the time I tried to make myself as useful as possible. Just by chance, the family came well prepared with supplies and some first responder training. Finally, a group, of which two were doctors, arrived and offered their services even heading back to Semonkong to help in the clinic.
There are obvious rumors of a tired driver or some story about a faulty stirring rod. Obvious, quick conclusions can be drawn just from the fact that Kwela Bus service is using the most run down of all the buses that service Semonkong. Even more disturbing is the increase in driving time that drivers see during the holiday season. That then is compounded by their own tendency to participate in the festivities after work.
We will have to see what flushes out from the police investigation, if anything substantial at all. Hopefully, however, this will alert people of more serious problems: poor vehicle condition limping between Semonkong and Maseru, overloading vehicles, staff that are overworking and no formal regulation of driver time. These issues will continue to be contributing factors to a very poor road environment. It is only this time that everyone has come out with so few serious injuries.