TWO staff of The Fiji Times were at the scene of the fatal accident in Nabou, Nadroga where they witnessed the carnage left behind by the car crash.
West-based photographer Reinal Chand and senior sports reporter Zanzeer Singh were travelling to Sigatoka when they came across the crash site.
“There were a lot of serious injuries,” Chand said.
“All I could see were people lying on the road and others trying to get people out of the minivan.
“The front of all of the vehicles were badly damaged. We knew some of them had died.”
“A police officer had put up a road block so we went out to see what happened. “They were still waiting for the ambulance and some of them were asking drivers to take the injured to hospital.”
He said three people were loaded onto the back of the company vehicle, while three were inside the vehicle.
“I put on my hazard light and sped towards Nadi. I was really worried for the boy sitting in front of the car with me. “His face was swollen and he was bleeding from his nose. “I didn’t want him or any of the passengers to die.”
He said the passengers at the back of the vehicle had numerous head and leg injuries.
Meanwhile, Singh who stayed back at the accident site said fire officers and emergency first respondents arrived at the site to retrieve those stuck in the vehicle.
“Most of the injured were in the minivan,” he said.
“I saw the Grace Roads truck and saw that the driver was still stuck inside.”
He said a road block was set up on both ends of the Queens Highway as emergency officials worked to retrieve the injured and the deceased.
