Two bodies were pulled out of the deep waters of Lake Kivu early on Tuesday after a truck belonging to a Chinese construction company went off the road and plunged into the waters in Rubavu, a district in northwestern Rwanda, a police spokesperson in the region confirmed to APA in Kigali.
The accident happened just before 9 a.m local time on Tuesday, police spokesperson Emmanuel Kayigi said.
At the time of the accident, the truck was carrying ten people including the driver who is among the survivors rescued after the incident, Kayigi added.
Officials are unsure what caused the driver to lose control of his vehicle and end up in the the deep water of Lake Kivu.
“Initial investigations show that the driver made a wrong turn and then something must have happened when he was turning around and the vehicle ended up in the water,” the senior police official said.
Rwanda has in recent months implemented measures to reduce road traffic accidents and avoid fatalities.
Some of these include; speed limit controls, strict laws on helmets, seat-belt usage, discouraging drink-driving or use of mobile phones while driving, yearly police motor vehicle inspections, as well as improved road infrastructure.
Statistics from the Rwanda National Police (RNP) Department of Traffic and Road Safety indicate that at least 465 people died in road accidents last year, while 654 others sustained injuries in the same period.
CU/as/APA