About 40 Zimbabweans and Malawians are reported dead, including a 10-month-old baby, after a bus in which they were travelling overturned just outside Makhado, South African officials have said.
The Limpopo
Department of Transport and Community Safety on Monday confirmed that at least
40 people have died in a horrific bus accident on the N1 freeway outside
Makhado (formerly Louis Trichardt) in Limpopo.
Limpopo
Transport and Community Safety MEC Violet Mathye told broadcaster Newzroom
Afrika that the deceased were Zimbabwean and Malawian nationals who were
travelling to their respective home countries from Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth).
“Let me pass my
condolences to the two countries that have lost loved ones — Zimbabwe and
Malawi. We have reported 38 injuries; these are the people who are currently in
hospital. They were originally 39, but a 10-month-old baby passed away after
being referred to hospital,” she said.
She said by
Monday morning, law enforcement agencies were still at the crash site, but 40
deaths had been confirmed.
“There was no
other vehicle involved. I am sure the bus lost control. I do not know what
caused it — it could be driver fatigue or a mechanical fault that made the bus
lose control and go down the ditch. We will only know once the final report is
completed,” Mathye said.
The distance
between Gqeberha and Harare is more than 2,100 kilometers. From Harare, the bus
was destined to travel to Malawi.
According to
the department, the crash occurred at around 2 pm on Sunday on the N1 North
near Ingwe Lodge in Musina.
The N1 freeway was closed following the accident, and motorists were advised to use alternative routes.
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