Sirizani Butau, The Hero That Rescued 8 People From Burning Bus

Sirizani Butau has become an instant hero after he endangered his life to rescue passengers of a burning bus near Mutare in Zimbabwe on Christmas eve.

Butau was one of the first people to arrive at the scene of a horrific crash involving a fuel tanker and a fully loaded bus on the busy Harare-Mutare highway on Thursday evening.

A Beta bus collided with a fuel tanker and burst into flames trapping all the occupants inside.

Without considering his own safety, Butau jumped into the bus and helped out at least 8 passengers.

It wasn’t smooth sailing as he sustained burns all over his body. For saving 8 lives it was a small price to pay.

Pictures shared on social media shows a burned and bruised Butau just after accomplishing his mission.

Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) reported that 4 people, unfortunately, perished in the fiery crash. The tanker truck driver and his passenger and two passengers from the bus.

54 people were hospitalised for injuries sustained in the crash, ZRP spokesperson Paul Nyathi reported.

Nyathi further reported that the accident may have been caused by a drunkard pedestrian. The driver of the bus was allegedly avoiding knocking a drunken pedestrian when he swerved onto the path of the oncoming fuel tanker.

The two collided and instantly burst into flames. Some passengers kicked out the emergency exit panels and escaped the fire while Butau rushed to help those vulnerable who couldn’t help themselves.

According to reports, the deceased passengers were entrapped when the vehicles collided hence they could escape the fire.

Sirizani has been hailed a Christmas Hero. Responding to requests to donate to him, Butau said,”..I did not do what I did to become a hero…I did what I did just to try and save lives, so it’s not about fame or what, so anyone who wishes to exchange their gratitude … can just do so…”

This man saves 8 people from a burning bus in Zimbabwe, this is a true hero, his name is Sirizani Butau pic.twitter.com/rIKslh7yGj

— BI Phakathi (@biphakathi) December 25, 2021