A second Limpopo bus accident in a week resulted in five deaths. (Limpopo Department of Transport and Community Safety/Facebook)
Five people have died in a second Limpopo bus accident in
five days.
Limpopo Transport and Community Safety MEC Violet Mathye
said the cross-border bus was travelling from Johannesburg to Zimbabwe and
overturned along the N1 North towards the Nyl Plaza, outside Mokopane, on
Sunday.
One woman and four men died in the accident, which took
place at around 17:30.
“Scores of passengers sustained injuries of varying
degrees in the process and have been taken to hospitals in Mokopane,” said
Mathye.
Last week, a bus accident outside Makhado led to the death
of 10 Zimbabwean nationals. The bus was travelling from Zimbabwe to
Johannesburg.
More than 30 other passengers were injured, with 12 being in
serious condition.
News24 reported that the driver was said to have driven over
a traffic circle at a high speed and lost control of the bus, which then
overturned.
Mathye said she was concerned about the accidents, which
“are affecting cross-border public transport operators”.
She appealed to bus companies to ensure that their drivers
are “fit for purpose, as fatigue could possibly have been a cause in [the]
accidents”.
Meanwhile, in KwaZulu-Natal, 20 people were killed in
three separate accidents on Saturday, including 11 in a head-on collision on
the R622 between Greytown and Mooi River in the Midlands.
