20 die in new year traffic accidents
TWENTY people have died in road traffic accidents during the New Year holidays across the country, says police spokesperson Esther Katongo.
Ms Katongo said police recorded 212 road traffic accidents throughout the country of which 16 were fatal and left 20 people died.
Ms Katongo said 33 were serious accidents in which 68 people were seriously injured, 50 were classified as slight road traffic accidents, 96 people sustained minor injuries and 113 were damages and no person sustained injuries.
Ms Katongo said Lusaka Province recorded the highest number of accidents with 83 road traffic accidents with two deaths, Copperbelt had 31 accidents with two deaths, and Central Province had 18 accidents with two deaths.
She said Northern Province and Kenneth Kaunda International Airports recorded the least road traffic accidents, six and three road traffic accidents respectively. “During the 2018 New Year holidays police recorded 212 road traffic accidents throughout the country, compared to last year during the same period when the country recorded a total number of 237 road traffic accidents.
Of this 17 were fatal road traffic accidents in which 17 persons died, indicating a decrease in recorded road traffic accidents by 25 percent.
“But we however recorded an increase in the number of deaths by three,” said Ms Katongo.
Meanwhile, Ms Katongo said the country was generally peaceful in terms of crime, but 123 significant cases were assault occasioning actual bodily harm (AOBH) of which 89 arrests were made, 34 cases of theft with 19 arrests, 18 reports of burglary and theft with 16 arrests.
Ms Katongo said eight thefts of motor vehicle with six arrests, seven reports of murder with no arrest, and six cases of malicious damage to property with four arrests, while four were reports of aggravated robbery with one arrest.
She said out of 237 cases that were recorded, 163 arrests were made.