A head-on collision in Namibia involving vehicles belonging to the security services killed 14 people, including 11 members of the prison service, a police officer, and two civilians.
The accident took place 270km (167 miles) south of the capital, Windhoek, outside the town of Mariental on Saturday.
No words can truly capture the depth of this loss, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah wrote on social media, praising the souls of our fallen officers.
Namibia has one of the highest road traffic fatality rates in the world.
Home Affairs Minister Lucia Iipumbu also passed on her condolences and thanked those who attended the scene of the accident and the medical teams at Mariental State Hospital.
She asked that photos from the scene not be shared, emphasizing respect for the deceased and the injured.
The ministry further strongly appeals to members of the public to refrain from circulating distressing and sensitive images and videos taken from the accident scene, out of respect for the deceased, the injured, and their families, she is quoted by the Namibian newspaper.
She explained that 19 people in total were travelling in the two vehicles, with the police van carrying six passengers - five officers and a civilian - and the Namibian Correctional Service’s bus having 13 people on board.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah mentioned that three other prison officers remained critically injured and offered wishes for their recovery.
Namibia's Motor Vehicle Accident Fund urged families affected to get in contact, explaining that the government-sponsored vehicle insurance scheme aids road injury victims with access to health care, rehabilitation, and social support.
The fund would assist with burials and medical care, as stated by its CEO. Road traffic crashes remain a critical public health issue in Namibia, despite its relatively low population of around three million.
The statistics reveal that Namibia had 22 road traffic fatalities per 100,000 in 2021, starkly higher than the UK’s 2.3 per 100,000.
