Sixteen people – among them at least 3 children – died when a bus overturned in Touwsriver in the Western Cape. The incident occurred shortly after midnight. At least 35 people, including the bus driver have been taken to hospital.
The bus with 73 passengers on board was on its way from Cape Town to the Eastern Cape. Provincial Mobility Department’s Chief Director for Traffic Management, Maxine Bezuidenhout, says there were holiday makers from the City of Cape Town.
“According to the driver, he was travelling from Cape Town along the N1 as you approach Touws River. He alleges that a vehicle came out of one of the side roads. To avoid colliding with the vehicle, he swerved and subsequently, the bus overturned. They were travelling from Cape Town, the destination is the Eastern Cape and it was holiday makers from the City of Cape Town. We have about 35 people that are receiving treatment at the moment. There were 73 people on the bus and one of the 3 survivors is under the age of 2.”
One of the surviving bus passengers, who asked to remain anonymous, says he was scheduled to leave from Bellville at 7h30 in the evening but passengers were still boarding by 11h30 in the evening in Kraaifontein, Cape Town.
“I was starting to sleep and then I heard some people screaming, then I woke up immediately and then I saw the bus lying on it’s right and then I was on the right hand side of the bus and then, I believe it rolled, I was on this side of the bus, the right hand side, pressing another passenger, passenger screaming. I could feel my left arm was touching the ground.”
COSATU in the Western Cape has meanwhile expressed its condolences to the families of the deceased. COSATU Western Cape Provincial Secretary, Malvern de Bruyn says, “COSATU is calling on the relevant authorities including the police, Department of Transport, to conduct a thorough and urgent investigation into the circumstances that led to this accident. It is critical that a cause of the accident is uncovered, to prevent such tragedies from recurring on our roads. The federation demands that all factors including road conditions, vehicle fitness and driver fatigue, be thoroughly examined. The loss of so many lives on our roads is a national tragedy that can no longer be tolerated.”
The cause of the accident is under investigation. -Reporting by Tando Ntunja
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