At least eleven persons were injured at Long Creek on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway around 16:30 h. on Monday when the drive shaft of the No. 72 minibus in which they were travelling from Mahdia to Georgetown snapped, causing the vehicle to topple several times.

Reports say that eleven of fourteen persons aboard the bus, including the driver, were injured, with only three children, ages two, five, and six, escaping unhurt. Their grandmother, with whom they were travelling, reportedly suffered a fractured shoulder and was hospitalized.

Among those seriously injured were two men who both suffered spinal injuries and are currently warded at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH). They are Ronald Harry, 34, of 111 Miles, Mahdia, and a 55-year-old father of two, of North East La Penitence, Georgetown.

Harry, whose condition was yesterday listed as critical, was unable to move his head and limbs, but managed limited communicating with persons around him. The other patient suffered a “C” fracture to the upper spine and lacerations to the left arm and other parts of his body. Both men are fitted with neck braces.

Relatives said that passengers on the bus recalled that along the journey from Mahdia they were smelling ‘something burning’ and called upon the driver to stop the bus and make checks. They said the driver reported that he could not determine what it was, and continued the journey.

Around 16:30 h, as they were passing through Long Creek, they said, the drive shaft snapped and the bus toppled about five times, injuring passengers, and causing many to literally ‘fly out’ of the vehicle in the process. There was pandemonium, they recalled, as terrified passengers were hurled through the windows and doors, with the injured strewn on the parapet and road way.

Help was solicited, using cellular phones, and the passengers, many of whom suffered head and spinal injuries, broken limbs and abrasions were rushed to the East Bank Regional Hospital at Diamond. Some were later transferred to the Georgetown Hospital. Meanwhile, some family members of the injured commuters claimed that the driver of the minibus was speeding and had to be chided by those persons along the way.
The matter is being investigated by the Traffic Police.