Picture: Limpopo Department of Transport and Community Safety/ Facebook
South Africa’s transport minister and deputy minister expressed their sincere and heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their loved ones in a major bus accident in Limpopo.
Ten passengers died and scores were injured when the bus, enroute from Zimbabwe to Johannesburg, overturned at 3 Miles on the N1 south of Makhado, just before midnight on Tuesday.
Twenty other passengers sustained slight injuries, and 22 others sustained no injuries. Three people suffered serious injuries and are in the hospital.
ALSO READ: 10 people killed as bus travelling from Zimbabwe overturns in Limpopo
Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy and Deputy Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa expressed their condolences and message of speedy recovery to those who have been hospitalised in a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
They also urged motorists to be vigilant of their surroundings and exercise caution while on the road.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation is currently investigating the cause of the bus crash, working together with provincial traffic authorities.
A preliminary report is expected in due course.
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“Let us recall that both Minister Creecy and Deputy Minister Hlengwa emphasised during the tabling of their Budget Vote speech that the quality of our roads is an important pillar in the fight against road cashes in our country,” the statement read.
“The budget speech emphasised that, as a country, we have remained committed to the United Nations’ programme for road safety, diligently implementing its successive Decades of Action for Road Safety.”
Yet road accidents continue to occur, and there have been only slow improvements in reducing fatalities, the department said.
“South Africa has committed to the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, targeting a 50% reduction in fatalities by 2030 from the 2010 baseline.”
However, the department admitted the country’s road fatalities are still “unacceptably high”.
“Over the past three years, road fatalities have decreased from 12 545 to 11 883 in 2023.”
Hlengwa will visit the scene of the bus crash and visit the hospitalised on Thursday.
He will also brief the media about the department’s intervention plan in response to the accident.
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