SIX people have died and one injured in separate road accidents that occurred in Iringa Municipality and Wanging’ombe District in Njombe Region at the weekend.

In Iringa, four people, including three children of the same family, died after being run over by a truck when a motorcycle they were travelling on fell down.

Acting Iringa Regional Police Commander Alfred Mbena said the accident occurred on Friday at around 7pm at Ipogolo slope in Iringa Municipality when motorcycle rider tried to overtake a cargo truck with registration number RAG 450N before hitting it, leading to the accident.

The deceased are Hassan Baurani (27), a motorcycle rider and resident of Ipogolo and three pupils of Ipogolo Primary School: Hellena Thomas (12) a standard seven pupil, Ally Tenywa (9) a standard one pupil and Gabriel John (5) a kindergarten pupil.

 “The motorcycle rider was taking the pupils back home to Iringa town after school when the accident occurred,” he said.

Mbena said the bodies were preserved at Iringa Regional Referral Hospital before being buried on Saturday at Cagliero cemeteries in the municipality.

In the second accident, two servants of Wanging’ombe District Council in Njombe Region have died after a motorcycle they were travelling on got into an accident.

The deceased include Raufu Samu (34) Assistant Nursing Officer  who was the motorcycle’s rider and passenger Patrick Chaula (38) a Medical Officer.

In the accident another Asia Chitiku (28) also a Medical Officer was injured.

Acting Njombe Regional Commander (RPC) Ally Kitumbu said the accident occurred on Friday at around 7.15pm at Igwachanya Village and that the officers died while receiving treatment at Njombe Regional Referral Hospital.

He said the servants who were on a motorcycle with registration number T MC 894 DTU Boxer make got into an accident after being hit by a Mitsubishi Verossa vehicle with number T107 DQN.

Kitumbu said recklessness of the vehicle’s driver identified as Noah Kipanga was the cause of the accident as he didn’t consider other road users and that the law enforcers launched a manhunt since he escaped soon after the accident.

Njombe Regional Commissioner Anthony Mtaka said the council has lost important people in health sector.

He directed Wanging'ombe District Council to ensure that all the deceased’s benefits are released urgently for their families not to suffer.

Claudia Kitta, Wanging’ombe District Commissioner, said doctors and nurses did all their efforts to rescue the lives of their fellows servants unsuccessfully.