10-month-old baby among 40 Zimbabweans and Malawians killed in N1 Limpopo crash
Limpopo Transport and Community Safety MEC Violet Mathye said the deceased were Zimbabwean and Malawian nationals who were travelling to their respective home countries from Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth).
Image: Supplied
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 said 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,” Mathye told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.
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:
From Makhado to Musina: use the Witvlag turnoff
From Musina to Makhado: use the Williespoort turnoff
Last week, IOL reported that police in Mokopane, under the Waterberg District in Limpopo, launched a massive manhunt for a group of armed suspects after two passengers were fatally shot and robbed inside a bus along the N1 freeway.
Images shared online show a child clutching at the body of her lifeless mother, covered in blood, seated in the bus. Other pictures show the body of the deceased man, and the bus surrounded by emergency medical services vehicles.
Provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, said the horrific incident occurred on Wednesday night, before 10 pm, approximately eight kilometres before the Nyl Plaza tollgate.
“Reports indicate that the complainant, a 42-year-old bus driver from Zimbabwe, had departed from the Power House (bus station in Johannesburg) driving a Volvo 60-seater bus with 54 passengers on board. The driver had picked up passengers at various points, including Midrand and Pretoria en route to Zimbabwe,” said Ledwaba.
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