The death toll in Monday afternoon's horror bus accident on the N1 north just before the Hendrik Verwoerd tunnels had risen to 22 on Thursday, following confirmation that another body was found by police divers.
Police divers went back to the culpable homicide scene on the morning of 16 February, after a family came forward reporting that they could not locate a loved one who was on the fatal bus. It was then that the body was discovered in the Phandanama river along the N1.
The 22 deceased were mostly commuters returning home after work, with survivors now claiming that the accident could have been caused by reckless and negligent driving on the part of the bus driver.
The accident occurred just after 17:00 on 13 February. According to a media statement issued by the provincial Department of Transport and Community Safety shortly after the accident, the driver of a cash-in-transit vehicle had allegedly lost control and collided head-on with the Mabirimisa bus. The bus capsized and rolled down a steep embankment into a nearby river, trapping many of the passengers underneath it.
Following the department's press release, several people (including survivors of the accident) have come forward, claiming that the bus driver was indeed at fault, accusing him of speeding and reckless overtaking.
One of the survivors the newspaper spoke to was Ms Maria Thabeli. "I saw the driver of the bus driving at high speed when overtaking another vehicle into the lane of oncoming traffic. He tried to swerve but, unfortunately, it was too late. From there I just heard a loud bang, and moments later I found myself lying under the roof of the bus, trapped with the bus on top of us," she said.
Another survivor the newspaper spoke to was Mr Freddy Salani. He had boarded the bus at 16:30, never suspecting his journey home to end in a deadly collision. He also claimed that the bus driver was speeding when he recklessly overtook the vehicles in front of him. After the impact, Salani said he did not know what happened next. "I only heard the bang when the bus crashed into other vehicles. I could not see, because I was seated at the back," said Salani. He was thankful to be alive. "All I can say is that God is great, because He saved me from death or serious injuries," he said.
When contacted about the allegations, Mr Robert Mabirimisa (speaking on behalf of the bus company) firstly stated that they were shocked about the loss of so many lives. "We are deeply concerned when the lives of our commuters are lost," he said and expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and wishing the injured a speedy recovery.
As for the allegations about the driver, he said that he was not able to respond. "I am not in any position to give you a comment as we are still going to conduct our own investigation," he said. He did, however, add that he had worked with the specific driver (who survived the accident) for more than seven years. "Never once was he involved in an accident. This is the first one," Mabirimisa said. "When God gave us these buses, we prayed that we would not have accidents as we are carrying the lives of the people. We are very saddened that so many people died in our bus, but this is beyond my powers and we cannot even question why it happened in our bus," said Mabirimisa.
Since the accident, messages of condolence to bereaved families have been streaming in. These include messages of condolence from the MEC for Transport and Community Safety and the executive mayor of the Vhembe District Municipality, Cllr Dowelani Nenguda. The chairperson of the Zoutpansberg Community Development Forum, Mr Patrick Sikhutshi, also expressed his shock. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased during this time of grief, and we wish a speedy recovery to the injured ones. This organisation shares the heartache and is saddened that so many lives continue to be lost on South African roads," said Sikhutshi.
In the meantime, provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo urged motorists to be extra cautious when driving. He condemned any form of reckless driving, especially speeding, by drivers along the roads. "The cause of this accident is still not clear at this stage and investigations are still continuing," said Mojapelo.