Emmerson Mnangagwa: Zimbabwe to pay hospital bills and repatriate victims of Limpopo bus disaster
The Zimbabwean and Malawian passengers were travelling from Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape to their home countries when the bus veered off a mountainous section of the N1 on Sunday and plunged down an embankment.
Image: Screengrab/SABC
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa has pledged government support for families who lost loved ones in the DNC Coaches bus disaster in Limpopo.
The death toll from the horrific crash on the N1 near Makhado (formerly Louis Trichardt) has risen to 43. Limpopo Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba confirmed the updated figure on Tuesday.
In a message of condolence, Mnangagwa said he has instructed government agencies in Zimbabwe to assist with the repatriation of citizens who died in the crash and to cover hospital bills for the injured.
President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa
Image: Picture: X/ANC
“On behalf of the Government of Zimbabwe, I wish to express my heartfelt condolences to the families of the bereaved commuters here in Zimbabwe and other SADC countries so affected,” Mnangagwa said.
“I have instructed the relevant government departments and agencies in Zimbabwe to extend state assistance towards the repatriation of the remains of Zimbabweans who perished in the accident, and to extend similar assistance towards their burial. In respect of the injured, the government will meet their hospital bills,” he added.
Authorities in South Africa said the DNC bus was overloaded, with the 61-seater vehicle allegedly carrying about 91 passengers — mostly Zimbabwean and Malawian nationals — travelling from Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) to Harare.
The DNC Coaches bus company is under the spotlight after the 61-seater vehicle was allegedly packed with more than 90 people.
Image: Limpopo Department of Transport
The bus, which was allegedly speeding, veered off the road and rolled down an embankment on Sunday evening, leaving dozens dead and several others injured.
South African officials have launched an investigation into how the overloaded bus passed through multiple police checkpoints from the Eastern Cape to Limpopo. Both governments have confirmed that they are coordinating efforts to repatriate the deceased and assist the injured.
The tragedy has reignited public concern about long-distance bus safety and the monitoring of cross-border transport operators.
In Zimbabwe, state-owned The Herald newspaper reported that Mnangagwa has declared a State of Disaster following the tragic DNC Coaches road accident in Limpopo.
Mnangagwa has also directed the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, through the Department of Civil Protection, to provide State-assisted burials and pay medical bills for the injured.
In addition, The Herald reported that the government has mobilised immediate logistical support for the families affected by the horrific crash, arranging free transportation to ferry the next of kin to Polokwane, to identify the bodies of their deceased relatives.
In a statement released on on Tuesday, Zimbabwe's Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe called on relatives of the deceased to come forward and assist in the identification process.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
IOL News