The city of Mbanza-Ngungu was the scene of a tragic road accident which took place on Saturday May 20, 2023, killing ten people. A truck belonging to the company specializing in civil engineering EGMF had left the city of Matadi to go to Kinshasa with a container of goods. After negotiating the mountain bend in the Kinshasa car park, the driver noticed an anomaly in the braking system of his Fiat 2508 vehicle registered CGO 7559AB10. Unfortunately, despite the driver’s warning, the passengers on board the truck were unable to leave the vehicle to avoid the accident.
The impact was violent, causing the collision with several other vehicles, motorcycles and people, according to witnesses on the spot. The first victims were immediately taken care of and transported to the Nsona Nkulu general referral hospital and to the CBFC/Loma referral health center in Mbanza-Ngungu by volunteers.
Despite this, the victims did not receive assistance from the EGMF company, five days after hospitalization. The injuries were serious, ranging from broken limbs to trauma, but no local or provincial political authority provided support for the hospitalized patients. Public opinion is outraged by the indifference of the government and wonders if it will take deaths for the provincial authority to take concrete measures.
This accident is a reminder of the need to invest more in road safety, in particular by ensuring that vehicles are regularly maintained and that drivers are trained in safety. Authorities also have a responsibility to provide immediate assistance to road accident victims and ensure that they receive appropriate medical care.
In short, this tragic event must be taken into account by the competent authorities to take the necessary measures to avoid such accidents in the future.