A school sport trip ended in tragedy when a school bus overturned - killing three people and leaving scores injured - in the Transkei at the weekend
The accident, which happened just after 8am on Saturday, claimed the lives of two teachers and the bus driver, who died on the scene.
The driver lost control of the bus at the dangerous Nomvalo Cuttings on the R61 road between Lusikisiki and Port St Johns.
The bus was ferrying pupils from various schools in Flagstaff and Lusikisiki to district school games in Tsolo.
"It was the most terrible accident to happen in this area over the past few years," police spokesperson Captain Mduduzi Godlwana said.
The bus and four minibus taxis were driving in convoy destined for Tsolo for the sport games.
Godlwana said a case of culpable homicide has been opened with the Lusikisiki police. The injured were rushed to St Elizabeth Hospital in Lusikisiki and St Barnabas Hospital in Libode.
Health Department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said all the passengers were taken to hospital. By yesterday most of them had been discharged.
"Nine of them are still in hospital in a stable but critical condition. They still need medical attention," Kupelo said.
Eyewitness Themba Mathinjwa was driving one of the minibuses behind the killer bus.
"The bus and the other vehicles were not driving fast. But all of a sudden the bus gathered speed and drove to a wall of the road on the left and overturned on the right and rolled over its roof," Mathinjwa said.
He said it became chaotic since all the passengers were screaming for help.
"We ran like headless chickens trying to assist the injured. We dragged them out of the bus as fast as we could but ensured that we did not cause more injuries."
Mathinjwa said: "The bus had fallen over the arms of some passengers. We used a jack from my taxi to try to lift the bus and rescued those whose arms were trapped under the bus. It was a terrible sight."
Villagers, some armed with picks and axes, joined in the rescue process and cut away parts of the bus to retrieve the injured.
Mathinjwa said about 30 minutes later traffic officers arrived, then a fire engine and later ambulances.
The trip was called off and all the buses and minibus taxis drove to Lusikisiki Teachers' Training College, where an impromptu prayer meeting was held.
Education MEC Mandla Makupula said he was on his way to a mass funeral of schoolchildren in Flagstaff when he came across the Saturday accident.
Makupula was going to attend the funeral service of four school children from Mazeni Junior Secondary School who died on May 13 when the minibus they were travelling in overturned.
He said that as part of preventing accidents involving schoolchildren his department would engage with the department of transport to inspect any type of transport to be used by pupils before it went out.
Provincial Arrive Alive spokesperson Tshepo Machaea said the cause of Saturday's accident was still being investigated.
"It is still not clear what might have caused the accident a nd an investigation is under way," he said.
He said in the other accident in which four pupils were killed the driver was found to be drunk.
"That cannot be allowed. The department will now be more hands-on when it comes to vehicles used to transport pupils," he said.
Machaea said in both accidents there seemed to be carelessness, either on the part of the driver or of the owner of the vehicles.
School trip tragedy
A school sport trip ended in tragedy when a school bus overturned - killing three people and leaving scores injured - in the Transkei at the weekend
The accident, which happened just after 8am on Saturday, claimed the lives of two teachers and the bus driver, who died on the scene.
The driver lost control of the bus at the dangerous Nomvalo Cuttings on the R61 road between Lusikisiki and Port St Johns.
The bus was ferrying pupils from various schools in Flagstaff and Lusikisiki to district school games in Tsolo.
"It was the most terrible accident to happen in this area over the past few years," police spokesperson Captain Mduduzi Godlwana said.
The bus and four minibus taxis were driving in convoy destined for Tsolo for the sport games.
Godlwana said a case of culpable homicide has been opened with the Lusikisiki police. The injured were rushed to St Elizabeth Hospital in Lusikisiki and St Barnabas Hospital in Libode.
Health Department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said all the passengers were taken to hospital. By yesterday most of them had been discharged.
"Nine of them are still in hospital in a stable but critical condition. They still need medical attention," Kupelo said.
Eyewitness Themba Mathinjwa was driving one of the minibuses behind the killer bus.
"The bus and the other vehicles were not driving fast. But all of a sudden the bus gathered speed and drove to a wall of the road on the left and overturned on the right and rolled over its roof," Mathinjwa said.
He said it became chaotic since all the passengers were screaming for help.
"We ran like headless chickens trying to assist the injured. We dragged them out of the bus as fast as we could but ensured that we did not cause more injuries."
Mathinjwa said: "The bus had fallen over the arms of some passengers. We used a jack from my taxi to try to lift the bus and rescued those whose arms were trapped under the bus. It was a terrible sight."
Villagers, some armed with picks and axes, joined in the rescue process and cut away parts of the bus to retrieve the injured.
Mathinjwa said about 30 minutes later traffic officers arrived, then a fire engine and later ambulances.
The trip was called off and all the buses and minibus taxis drove to Lusikisiki Teachers' Training College, where an impromptu prayer meeting was held.
Education MEC Mandla Makupula said he was on his way to a mass funeral of schoolchildren in Flagstaff when he came across the Saturday accident.
Makupula was going to attend the funeral service of four school children from Mazeni Junior Secondary School who died on May 13 when the minibus they were travelling in overturned.
He said that as part of preventing accidents involving schoolchildren his department would engage with the department of transport to inspect any type of transport to be used by pupils before it went out.
Provincial Arrive Alive spokesperson Tshepo Machaea said the cause of Saturday's accident was still being investigated.
"It is still not clear what might have caused the accident a nd an investigation is under way," he said.
He said in the other accident in which four pupils were killed the driver was found to be drunk.
"That cannot be allowed. The department will now be more hands-on when it comes to vehicles used to transport pupils," he said.
Machaea said in both accidents there seemed to be carelessness, either on the part of the driver or of the owner of the vehicles.
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