Tourist killed, another injured as Safari Vehicle plunges onto visitors in Ngorongoro Conservation Area

A tourist who was visiting Ngorongoro Conservation Area was killed when a runaway safari vehicle rammed into visitors and knocked her down at the popular crater viewpoint station.

The deceased, a lady said to be a German National and who was in her mid 40s, was reportedly accompanied by her husband and child and they were touring Tanzania in a program which also took them to Ngorongoro.

Apparently, the lady died at the viewpoint while gazing down at the caldera below.

Relatives have requested that the identity of the lady be concealed to protect her family as well as not to trouble her immediate family further as they are currently very much aggrieved.

The vehicle which hit the unfortunate tourist is said to be an elongated Toyota Landcruiser Safari vehicle bearing plate registration number T665 BSR belonging to Kimgoni Tanzania Safaris, which was traveling from Serengeti to Arusha.

The vehicle, which had four occupants aboard, was being driven by Hillary Mallya, currently held by the police.

The Director of the tour company, Philipo Kimgoni said the driver of the vehicle claimed the brakes failed.

“However, upon inspecting the vehicle we found the brakes intact, maybe it was a temporary failure, or the driver could have miscalculated the corner negotiations,” said Kimgoni, adding that the police arrived at the scene and took the driver away for further investigations.

The vehicle had just arrived at the crater viewpoint when brakes allegedly failed.

The safari Landcruiser then rammed onto the unsuspecting tourists who were enjoying the scenery.

The vehicle hit both the lady and her 17-year-old son who suffered serious injuries, but his mother eventually died after failed attempts to offer her first aid.

The family of three were touring the conservancy aboard the vehicle belonging to Zara Adventures of Moshi and they had disembarked to get the vantage view of the crater at the popular viewpoint when the other runaway car belonging to Kimgoni tours rammed onto the rails.

When contacted, the Germany Consulate in Arusha said they were yet to receive information from both the scene of the accident and the police.

On the other hand, the Arusha regional Police Commander, SACP Justine Masejo said investigations surrounding the incident is going on