TWO men are dead and another is fighting for his life at the Goroka Base Hospital in PNG after the truck they were travelling in plunged into a creek.
The accident happened near Asaro in the Eastern Highlands Province of PNG last Thursday night.
The dead included the driver.
Police said the truck was travelling downhill at high speed.
Eastern Highlands provincial police commander Supt John Kale said the truck was transporting a container from Western Highlands to Lae.
Kale said they suspected that the brake could have failed near the Manto section of the highway at the foot of Daulo Pass.
“It was fortunate that the truck did not run into family homes on the downhill stretch,” he said.
“It plunged into the small creek nearby throwing the trailer and container off. The cab was badly smashed and landed some 10m away.”
He said the driver and a passenger died instantly after being squashed in the smashed cab. Cutters were used to rip open the wreckage and pull their bodies out.
Kale did not disclose their identities because family members had to be informed first.
He confirmed that they were all from Western Highlands.
The truck was owned by Lae-based Jooybee Wills Trans International, according to sticker on the doors.
He said a similar accident occurred at Dirty Wara bridge at the border of Unggai-Bena and Henganofi districts in Eastern Highlands recently.