Story by Lisa Masuku-Kurira
THE Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Honourable Barbara Rwodzi, together with the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Bulawayo, Honourable Judith Ncube, visited injured crew members from the Rovos Rail train accident who are currently admitted at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo and Gwanda Hospital.
During the hospital visits, the ministers interacted with the accident victims, who were all reported to be in stable condition.
Many of the tourists expressed deep appreciation for the warmth and care they received from Zimbabwe’s medical professionals and citizens.
One of the accident survivors, Cherilo Fagan, a tourist from California, USA, remained in high spirits despite her unexpected detour to a hospital bed.
“You guys are lovely, I must say. The love and warmth have been really amazing,” Fagan said.
With her goal being of touring all the continents, the American national is eager to explore the country’s magnificent falls,
“We started off in Capetown. The goal was to get to Victoria Falls. Then things happened. I have a goal to visit all the continents. I grew up travelling, so I saved up my money to make sure I get to realise my dream of travelling all the continents,” Fagan said.
Of the 47 international tourists who were involved in a train accident, four of them were doctors, and these helped calm the situation before those who were injured were ferried to the hospital.
“Among all of us, we discovered that there were four doctors on the train. This helped a lot. Above all, the Zimbabwean Police and medical experts acted swiftly. This is one of the main factors that contributed to ensuring there were no fatalities,” another tourist, Peter Anderson said.
Hearing all the positive reviews from interacting with the train accident victims, the government said Zimbabwe’s policy of being a friend to all and an enemy to none is bearing fruit.
“In general let me say strategically, we are leveraging on Tourism to foster positive relations with other countries,” Honourable Rwodzi said.
“We are happy all the tourists survived and they are getting medical attention,” Honourable Ncube said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry also toured the accident scene, revealing that investigations are underway to ascertain the cause of the accident.
