Three die, seven wounded in Buea road accident.

Eyewitness accounts hold that an over speeding vehicle, coming from Molyko towards Bongo Square, had a break failure and bumped into people in the market closest to the road.

The car is said to have derailed and hit a tricycle on the other side of the road. The seven persons injured were said to be amongst a group of buyers and individuals who were offloading tomatoes from the tricycle.

A woman and the driver of the tricycle are said to have died on the spot, while the other person gave up the ghost in a health facility. 

Before then, the corpses of the two persons who first died were taken to the Buea Regional Hospital Annex Mortuary. 

The driver of the car at the centre of the accident, witnesses said, survived but complained of waist pains.

Besides the human causalities, at least five mobile money kiosks were destroyed as well as trees beside the road. 

Other businesspersons mostly involved in the retailing of spices, also suffered huge losses.

The Mayor of Buea, David Mafani Namange, according to media reports, blamed the accident on traders. 

Mafani is said to have decried the reluctance of traders to relocate to the Buea Central Market, which has enough space. 

He is said to have, however, promised to take tough measures to stop traders who put their lives at risk to sell beside the road.

However, many people are said to have complained that the central market is isolated and not secured. 

Their merchandise, they insist, can be carted away by hoodlums. 

However, the mayor said the council will institute tough measures to ensure traders refrain from selling beside the road. 

The location of the Great Soppo Market along the major highway in Buea, has been at the centre of debates for years. 

It should be noted that despite the Great Soppo Market being located beside the road, there are no speed breaks around the market section of the stretch. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3172 of Thursday July 18, 2024