Limpopo Transport and Community Safety MEC Violet Mathye has called on the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) to take urgent action to prevent further loss of life at the notorious hairpin bend on the N1 north near Ingwe Lodge, which was again the scene of a fatal bus accident last week.
Mathye addressed members of the media on the N1 north outside Louis Trichardt, where the accident occurred during the early hours of Thursday, 19 February, claiming six lives. At the time, several injured passengers were still receiving treatment at hospitals across Vhembe, including in Louis Trichardt, Elim, and Siloam. More than 30 passengers were injured in the crash.
“I think SANRAL should build a barrier on this curve so that even if an accident occurs, the vehicle will not plunge into the ditch,” Mathye said.
In recent years, this stretch of the N1 in the Soutpansberg Mountain Pass, at the notorious Ingwe Lodge 40 km/h hairpin bend, has been the site of numerous fatal and near-fatal accidents. Last Thursday’s crash occurred at the same spot where 44 people were killed in a devastating bus accident on 12 October last year. The victims were travelling to Zimbabwe and Malawi.
In last week’s incident, an Interlink Coaches bus was travelling from Gauteng to Musina when the driver allegedly lost control. The bus overturned and rolled down an embankment, forcing the N1 to be closed for several hours to allow emergency services, police, and recovery teams to clear the scene.
Mathye said speeding might have contributed to the accident and that a detailed report would be released once investigations were complete. She expressed concern over the carnage on the region’s roads and urged motorists, particularly public transport operators, to drive cautiously and reduce speed. The bus was scheduled to stop in Musina, where passengers were to board another bus to Zimbabwe. Mathye also conveyed her condolences to the families of the deceased.
Interlink Coaches spokesperson Poscent Ndlovu said the bus was roadworthy. “I’m 100% sure that it was roadworthy,” he said.
One of the injured passengers, Maxwell Mukuru from Zimbabwe, was treated at Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital. He described the chaos when the bus overturned. “This is the most horrible experience of my life,” he said. “I was asleep, heard a big bang, and then realised the bus had overturned. It rolled several times, and some passengers were thrown out in the dark.”
Further highlighting safety concerns, the same hairpin bend was again the scene of an accident on Sunday afternoon. According to the Limpopo Department of Transport and Community Safety, preliminary investigations suggest a truck travelling north experienced brake failure and struck three vehicles at the bend. A few kilometres further, just before the Hendrik Verwoerd tunnels, the driver lost control. The truck veered off the road, plunged into a ditch, and caught fire. Luckily, no fatalities were reported, although the truck driver was transported to hospital for treatment of injuries sustained.
In response to the October 2025 accident, SANRAL confirmed it was planning a major upgrade, particularly of the mountain pass section of this national road. “SANRAL is busy with a design process to improve the geometry of the road and widen it with extra passing and climbing lanes. The design will also eliminate some of the sharp curves, including the hairpin bend near the Ingwe Hotel,” said SANRAL’s provincial head in Limpopo, Madoda Mthembu.
As for an interim solution to the dangerous state of the road following the most recent accident, Mthembu said SANRAL would assess possible remedies. “SANRAL’s road-safety engineers will conduct a thorough assessment of the affected area, and they will come up with recommendations in terms of what measures will be implemented in the interim period,” he said.