A terrifying moment was captured on video in Zimbabwe when a passenger bus lost power while climbing a steep hill and began rolling backwards uncontrollably—narrowly avoiding a deadly disaster.
In the now-viral footage, the bus is seen struggling to make it up a hill, crawling slowly with evident difficulty.
According to a source, several passengers had already disembarked, clearly sensing that something wasn’t right. One of them, who appears to have anticipated trouble, was filming the entire incident.
As the bus creeps upward, it suddenly stalls – the engine cutting out completely. Within seconds, the massive vehicle begins to roll backwards down the slope, its brakes seemingly ineffective.
Onlookers can be heard shouting in panic as the bus gains momentum, swerving slightly and threatening to overturn.
Thankfully, disaster was averted when the bus slammed into a line of concrete road barriers on the side of the road. The barriers absorbed the impact and brought the bus to a stop, prompting sighs of relief from passengers, the cameraman, and bystanders.
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No injuries were reported, but the incident has raised fresh concerns about vehicle roadworthiness in the neighbouring country.
“This could’ve been worse,” said one witness who helped escort shaken passengers away from the scene. “If it wasn’t for those concrete blocks, we’d be talking about lives lost today.”
Authorities are yet to comment on the condition of the bus or if the operator will face penalties.
Watch the video below and let us know what you think – should buses be forced to stop and check before tackling steep inclines like this one?
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