Tragedy struck when a bus capsized in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng on Tuesday. Sixteen lives were lost. President Cyril Ramaphosa sent his condolences to the injured and the families of the deceased. The accident occurred on the R21 near the OR Tambo International Airport was reported at around 6.30 AM. According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTCM) the crash involved a MAN passenger bus owned by the City of Ekurhuleni and a light motor vehicle. “In an attempt to avoid a collision, the bus driver also braked and swerved, resulting in the bus losing control, rotating clockwise, overturning, and coming to rest in the offramp lane, facing south. Twelve people died at the scene and four died in hospital.”
Zwane said the number of injured persons is still being confirmed, with reports currently indicating 11 people sustained critical injuries. “An additional 24 individuals with serious to moderate injuries.” “The RTMC Crash Investigator is still on-site, and the exact cause of the accident is under active investigation.” Ekurhuleni Roads and Transport MMC Andile Mngwevu has rejected claims that the bus involved in the accident was overloaded. “Since I became an MMC, towards the second year now in the city, we’ve never been involved in any accident that involves buses and our passengers,” Mngwevu said. The metro has started the process of tracing the victims’ families.
“The authorities will be conducting their search to get a sense of who these deceased are, so that they can be able to trace their families. Once they’ve concluded that particular point, they will also advise us on the way forward on what should happen,” Mngwevu added.
Police are investigating the accident. It has sent shockwaves across the country and it appears the driver had lost control of the vehicle. The question is how? Answers will emerge as the police and forensics investigate the matter. Men, women and children have lost their lives in this terrible event. Paramedics and doctors will be working around the clock to revive and heal the wounded. This will not be an easy task. The injuries sustained by the surviving unspecified number of passengers range from relatively minor to seriously critical. It will be hoped that those critical injuries have health insurance. The families of those who died will be devastated on first hearing the news.
It will not be an easy task to trace the families of the deceased unless the police have a DNA data bank but that doesn’t offer a clear trace as to who would be related to who. The deaths of those passengers on the bus will break the hearts of their loved ones. Some of the victims must have been the bread winners of their families. It may take more that President Ramaphosa’s condolences to recover.
JOHANNESBURG – President Cyril Ramaphosa has offered his condolences to the families of the 16 people who lost their lives in a bus crash on Tuesday on the R21 freeway in Ekurhuleni. Ramaphosa also wished the 45 others who were injured in the crash a speedy recovery. Officials have reported that the vehicle jack-knifed and rolled over several times. The president’s spokesperson, Vincent Mangwenya said that the President was saddened by the loss of life. “As we reflect on the lives that have been lost, we must also reflect on the responsibility and conduct of everyone who gets in behind the wheel of a vehicle, big and small, in our country. When we ask how safe our roads are, we actually need to ask how safe we are as drivers and pedestrians. The biggest factor in crashes is human error, not law enforcement or road conditions.”
An error in human judgement is indeed a major cause for road accidents. This accident stands out for the large scale of death that occurred. Most of those counted were young school going children. However apart from the 16 casualties that occurred, among the 45 others who sustained only injuries there could be a much slower recovery depending on what their doctors say. As the police and the RTCM investigate answers will emerge as regard to how this action actually occurred. The capsized bus clearly indicates however that the driver had lost control. South Africa clearly needs to monitor behaviour and actions of those put in charge of driving public transport. The position of the department of public transport is to monitor the conduct of drivers who are responsible for vehicles like the bus that crashed on the R21 freeway. Only time will tell what lessons will be learned from this accident.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
