The bus driver was among five people killed when a passenger bus plunged down an embankment on the N1 in the treacherous Soutpansberg mountain pass in the early hours of Thursday morning, 19 February.
More than 30 passengers were injured in the crash, several of them fighting for their lives. Four passengers sustained serious injuries, while 10 were critically injured. A further 18 suffered minor injuries. Emergency services rushed to the scene and stabilised the injured before transporting them to nearby hospitals and medical facilities for urgent treatment.
The crash occurred at around 02:50 near the notorious Ingwe Lodge hairpin turn, a section of road long feared by motorists. According to preliminary reports, the bus veered off the road after the driver lost control before rolling down an embankment.
In addition to the male driver, the deceased include one female passenger and three other male passengers.
Limpopo Transport and Community Safety MEC Violet Mathye visited the crash site just hours later, as investigators and emergency personnel worked to clear the wreckage and piece together the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
“Our thoughts are with the loved ones of the deceased, and we pray for the swift healing of those hurt in this tragic incident,” Mathye said.
She confirmed that authorities have launched a full investigation, with preliminary findings indicating that the driver lost control of the vehicle before it veered down the mountain.
The road was temporarily closed while emergency services, traffic officials and investigators attended to the scene, forcing traffic to be diverted to alternative routes.
Thursday’s tragedy has once again ignited public outrage over the safety of the Soutpansberg mountain pass, particularly at the Ingwe Lodge hairpin turn — a stretch of road that has claimed dozens of lives in recent years.
The accident occurred at almost the exact same spot where 44 people were killed in a devastating bus crash on 12 October last year. Several other fatal and near-fatal accidents have been recorded along this dangerous section, prompting repeated calls for the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) to urgently upgrade the pass.
Despite carrying heavy national and international traffic volumes, the road remains a single carriageway in each direction, with sharp bends, steep gradients and limited room for error.