Over 40 people have been admitted with injuries while four confirmed dead at the Mt Hagen Provincial Hospital after a number of vehicle collisions.
Last Saturday, an accident involving a truck occurred along the Baiyer Road at Tech. The incident claimed the life of the driver while 11 others were admitted to hospital.
On Monday, two accidents occurred at the same time; one at Warakalap Village along the road to Mendi while another at Tomba, along the road to Wabag.
Ps Stanley Ebi, one of the patients, said at the Warakalap check point, the driver of their PMV bus was speeding along a sharp turn.
Before they knew it, they found themselves rolling four or five times down a cliff.
Ps Ebi suffers a broken leg from the accident.
A guardian of one of the victims from the Tomba accident, Matias John, said a PMV bus traveling from Hagen Town to Tomba collided with a Hino truck, which was traveling from Tomba.
John said the truck driver lost control of the wheel, which led to the collision with the 15-seater bus.
Meantime, acting director Curative Services, Dr Medison Dat, said: “Both accidents happened at the same time and we couldn’t tell which patients were from which scene. Of the 40-plus patients, around 22 were admitted to the ward, another 20 were seen at the outpatient and sent home.
“Of those who were admitted, around 11 were admitted to the ward while another 11 are still waiting at the emergency and outpatients section due to no space in the ward.
“The surgical ward is fully booked; we still need to bring in those at the emergency and outpatients section.
“We have also confirmed four deaths; we are not sure from which accident area,” stated Dr Dat.