A macabre scene awaited rescue workers rushing to attend to the injured during Sunday (17 July) morning´s horrendous bus accident along the N1 north, just outside of Louis Trichardt.

Initially the accident, which occurred just past the controversial Witvlag turnoff, claimed 13 lives at the scene. The number of fatalities increased to 14 after the death of a woman who had been admitted to the Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital for treatment.

According to information available, the Trans-Africa Lux-bus was sent to fetch passengers after their original bus had broken down just outside of Musina. The passengers were all Zimbabweans on their way to Johannesburg from Bulawayo.

According to one survivor, the bus was going very fast and the driver did not even have time to respond to passengers’ frantic questions before the bus skidded off the road and crashed over the safety rail, rolling down the embankment. The bus’s entire roof was ripped off as a result of the impact.

Local police spokesperson Capt Maano Sadike confirmed afterwards that 48 passengers were taken to the Louis Trichardt Memorial, Elim and Siloam Hospitals. Of these, nine were critically injured.

The last patient to be rescued from the bus was a passenger pinned down by the wreck. Thirteen passengers, amongt them a little girl, were declared dead on the scene.

The N1 had to be closed for several hours to allow recue workers to remove the bodies and clear the road of wreckage. A special team of forensic investigators arrived just hours after the crash to determine the cause of the accident.

On Monday, the Department of Roads and Transport confirmed that an independent team of accident investigation and reconstruction specialists had also been appointed to look into the circumstances that led to the accident. This team was apparently appointed as a result of allegations that the South African bus was unroadworthy and without a license disk. The department also indicated that the company’s other buses will also be inspected.

By Tuesday, police were still identifying the deceased with the help of family members and the Zimbabwean embassy. Their names will be released as soon as all the next of kin have been notified.