A bus transporting around 44 farmworkers crashed in the Van Rhyns Pass in Western Cape, killing ten people.
(The Post News)- Ten lives were claimed on Monday, September 2, when a bus with at least 44 passengers drove off the Van Rhyns Pass in the Western Cape. It is believed the bus was carrying farm workers from Upington, Kenhardt, and Keimoes in the Northern Cape to Cere in the Western Cape.
Billy Claasen, the executive director of the Rulal and Farmworkers Development Organization, said they were saddened by the deaths of farm-workers who are from different towns in the Northern Cape. Claasen further extended his heartfelt condolences to the families, colleagues, and friends of the deceased and wished the injured farmers a speedy recovery.
The accident occurred around 17:20 on the R27 between 37 and 38 kilometers, and according to the Western Cape police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi, police and emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene, where they participated in the rescue operations. Initially, only nine fatalities were reported; however, the death rate later increased to ten.
On Tuesday morning, Swartbooi confirmed that 29 casualties were taken to surrounding hospitals, while ten were pronounced dead on scene.Simon Zwane, the spokesperson of the Department of Transport, said the bus driver allegedly crashed on the side of the mountain slope, which caused the driver to lose control of the bus; the bus then rolled down the mountain slope.
The actual cause of the accident is still unknown, and it is currently under investigation.On Tuesday morning, the road had been opened both ways for traffic, and even though emergency personnel had left the scene, traffic authorities and the South African Police Service (SAPS) remained on the scene.
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