Eight of the 10 victims who died last week when a bus from Malamulele lost its way and hit an oncoming taxi were buried at different villages on Saturday and Sunday.

The accident happened on Monday afternoon (10 February) on the R524 road next to MTG Funerals.  The deceased were all in the doomed taxi, while another 11 of its passengers were injured.

The deceased who have already been buried are the driver of the taxi, Mr Robert Mapango (53) of Tshikonelo, Ms Violet Ndonyane (62) of Basani, Ms Joyce Masango (39), Ms Lucy Nethengwe of Muraga, Ms Constance Randima (41), Ms Yvonne Shivambu (27) of Basani, Ms Anna Siphuma (69) and Ms Rose Sithole (49).

Two of those who were killed in the accident have not yet been identified.

Thulamela’s mayor, Cllr Grace Mahosi, expressed her shock about the incident and questioned why members of the communities could be so heartless as to display dismembered bodies on social networks. “As leaders we are concerned by the way members of the community conduct themselves in terms of  (not) respecting the dead. What happened after the accident cannot go unchallenged. Photographs of dead people, some with their limbs cut from the bodies, being shared on social networks is something we do not expect. Just imagine the pain the families go through when they see those pictures. We are now condemning this act in the strongest terms and appeal to our communities to desist from doing that,” said Mahosi.

Mahosi said government felt the pain the families were feeling and that was the reason why they paid families visits with other stakeholders, such as the Road Accident Fund and the Vhembe Bus Association, to comfort them.

All bereaved families were given R16 000 by the Road Accident Fund and a further R10 000 each by Do Light Bus Service to assist them in the burial of their loved ones.

Meanwhile, the police are still appealing to families whose loved ones are missing to go to the local hospital to check if they are not among those still unidentified.