A horrific road accident in Bonabéri, Douala IV Subdivision, has claimed four lives three women and one man after a semi-trailer truck overturned at the notorious ‘Cimetière Kotto Bass’ roundabout yesterday.
According to eyewitnesses, the semi-trailer, which was transporting a heavy container, lost balance while navigating a sharp bend at the roundabout. The combination of the truck's high center of gravity and a severely degraded road surface caused the container to shift violently.
The truck tipped onto its side before the driver could complete the maneuver, crushing pedestrians standing by the roadside and a commercial motorcycle rider waiting for passengers.
Among the victims was a female patient from the Catholic hospital directly opposite the crash site. Witnesses noted she still had a medical cannula in her hand, having briefly stepped out of the hospital to purchase fruit when the trailer fell.
4 people (3 women, 1 man). 3 motorcycles were completely crushed and later recovered from beneath the overturned vehicle.
The bodies of the victims, who remain unidentified, were retrieved by firefighters and transported to the Bonassama District Hospital mortuary for autopsy and identification procedures.
Locals and regular road users are pointing fingers at the dilapidated infrastructure. The road at the Cimetière Kotto bend is reportedly marred by deep potholes and uneven grader ridges that cause heavy vehicles to sway dangerously."Every time a loaded truck takes this bend, my heart skips a beat, especially when I’m on a motorcycle," one resident confessed, echoing the community's growing anxiety over a stretch of road they now call a "death trap."
The gravity of the accident drew immediate attention from top regional officials. The Governor of the Littoral Region, Samuel Dieudonné Ivaha Diboua, visited the scene alongside his Secretary General Aboubakary Haman Tchoutio and the Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) for Wouri Mvogo Marie.
A massive crowd gathered as police officers, gendarmes, and firefighters worked in tandem to secure the area and recover the bodies from beneath the wreckage.
The accident site is one of Bonabéri’s busiest transit and commercial hubs. Throughout the day, the junction is crowded with motorcycle riders waiting for fares, alongside a bustling informal market. Local women line the streets selling grilled maize, cocoyams, potatoes, sachet water, and fruits, while nearby provision stores and bars operate nearly around the clock.
The high concentration of pedestrians and traders at this poorly maintained junction has long made it an accident waiting to happen a fear that tragically became a reality yesterday.
By Henry WANA
