Swazi road accident kills 38 girls
Print Edition
A ROAD accident in Swaziland killed 38 girls and seriously injured 20 others who had been on their way to a traditional ceremony where King Mswati III can choose a new wife, pro-democracy activists reported yesterday.
The accident happened on Friday night when their open truck smashed into a car on the road between the tiny kingdom鈥檚 two main cities, Mbabane and Manzini, en route to the traditional Reed Dance, activists said.
鈥淎 total of 38 young girls have been pronounced dead, with more than 20 others seriously injured,鈥 said Lucky Lukhele, a spokesman for the Swaziland Solidarity Network which campaigns for democracy in the landlocked kingdom within South Africa.
鈥淭he girls were in an open truck which hit a sedan car stopped on the road,鈥 Lukhele said.
The Reed Dance, due to be held today, is a beauty pageant that attracts tens of thousands of young virgins who dance before the polygamist king, who can select one of them as a new wife.
Mswati, Africa鈥檚 last absolute monarch, chose his 14th wife at the celebration in 2013.
Mswati said the girls鈥 deaths were a 鈥渢ragedy in the nation.鈥
鈥淚 would like to assure the parents who have lost their loved ones that the nation will support them through and through,鈥 said the monarch, speaking on the sidelines of a trade fair in Manzini.
鈥淎lso those in hospitals, should the need arise for further treatment they will be taken to other hospitals to ensure no further loss of life,鈥 the king added.
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