Three killed, 71 injured after bus overturns on N1 South of Bloemfontein
Three people have died after a bus overturned on the N1 south between Edenburg and Bloemfontein. Seventy-one passengers were injured and rushed to hospitals as emergency services responded swiftly.
Image: Arrive alive / X
Three people have died after a bus they were travelling in overturned on the N1 south, between Edenburg and Bloemfontein, in the early hours of Monday.
Following the accident, 71 passengers were transported to hospitals in the area for treatment.
Emergency services responded quickly to assist those affected.
Sipho Towa, Chairperson of the Road Accident Management Systems, confirmed the casualties and the response, saying, “The accident, unfortunately, claimed three lives.”
''We offer our condolences to the families affected.''
The Road Traffic Management Corporation has also urged festive season travellers to reduce high speeds and respect all road regulations, following a series of deadly head-on collisions in KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.
“An unacceptably high number of head-on collisions involving speed and reckless driving have been recorded since the start of the festive season,” the RTMC said.
Eleven people have died in the latest crashes, which occurred in KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.
The KwaZulu-Natal crash occurred in KwaMbonambi on Friday, December 19.
It is alleged that “a driver of a light delivery vehicle was overtaking and went onto the path of an oncoming vehicle.”
The driver of the oncoming vehicle tried to avoid the LDV but lost control and overturned.
The delivery vehicle then collided head-on with another vehicle, resulting in “five people killed, eight with serious injuries and six with light injuries,'' said the RTM.
In the Free State, five people died and three were injured when two vehicles collided head-on outside Heilbron on Saturday, December 20. The collision occurred “on a blind rise.” The causes of both crashes are under investigation.
Data collected by the RTMC shows that “head-on collisions are responsible for twelve percent of crashes on South African roads this festive season.”
Speeding is the leading traffic law violation, with close to 50,000 traffic fines issued for speeding and 255 drivers arrested for driving at high speeds and exceeding the speed limit by 40 kilometres an hour.
Motorists are called upon to “desist from overtaking over solid lanes, on blind rises and when the view ahead is not clear,” the RTMC said.
hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za
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