Zimbabwean Bus Accident Kills 10 In South Africa
A passenger bus travelling from Zimbabwe lost control and overturned in South Africa’s northeastern Limpopo province, killing 10 people in the process.
Confirming the unfortunate incident, local Transport Ministry officials said the bus was en route from Johannesburg to Zimbabwe on Wednesday morning.
The accident left more than 35 other persons sustaining varying degrees of injuries with 12 of them in critical condition.
The bus reportedly drove over a roundabout, the last traffic circle from Makhado towards Polokwane, at high speed, causing the driver to lose control.
In the process, the bus overturned, resulting in the deaths and injuries of its passengers.
The government said in a statement that five men and five women, who are “reportedly foreign nationals”, were on their way to Johannesburg when the accident happened just before midnight on Tuesday, August 26,2024.
The statement said; “The bus drove over a roundabout… at high speed, lost control and overturned, killing and injuring its passengers in the process”.
According to the local authorities, the driver was “new in his job, and not familiar with the surroundings”.
The injured passengers were taken to local hospitals for immediate medical treatment.
This is as officials disclosed that the local government “has sent messages of condolences to the families of the deceased and has also urged motorists to be alert of their surroundings and drive with caution, at all times”.
Despite having one of the most developed road networks on the continent, South Africa is notorious for parading one of the worst road safety records, in part due to reckless driving and vehicles that are not roadworthy.
In the worst road accident in South Africa this year, 45 people heading to a religious event were killed in March when their bus plunged off a bridge into a ravine in the north of the country.
The bus crash, which occurred near Mokopane in Limpopo, had Botswana nationals on board and was transporting the commuters from Botswana to Moria when the driver lost control, causing the bus to overturn.
