Four people died in a head-on collision between a polo sedan and a seven-seater on the B1 road between Otjiwarongo and Otavi in the early hours of this morning.

The police said the sedan was allegedly attempting to overtake a truck when it collided head-on with a seven-seater, and a culpable homicide case has been opened against the driver of the polo.

Otjozondjupa Community Liaison Officer, Inspector Maureen Mbeha, said the polo sedan had seven occupants, of which the youngest was six months old and the eldest was 39. They all survived.

The Erongo Region recorded a 15% increase in road crashes and a 6% decrease in fatalities from January to November this year.

This was revealed by Police Regional Commander, Nickolas Kupembona, during the official opening of the Swakopmund roadblock for the festive season.

Kupembona says that it is evident that during the festive seasons, the national roads become a cause of concern to the nation as a result of the road accidents that tend to increase during this time of the year.

The Omaruru Constituency Youth Forum held a basic first aid workshop to reduce the number of fatalities in various types of incidents such as house fires, motor vehicle accidents, and domestic violence in the community.

These issues have become an increasing concern in communities as a large number of people are being robbed of their precious lives due to the untimely response by the emergency response services as they take time to get to the site.