18 kids die in horror crash
FAMILY and friends are asking themselves if their loved ones would be alive if the driver of a minibus that crashed, claiming at least 20 lives, had kept within the legal passenger capacity.
The horror accident in which 20 people, most of them schoolchildren, perished occurred on the Groblersdal road just after Bronkhorstspruit, on the border between Mpumalanga and Gauteng, yesterday afternoon.
The minibus caught fire, trapping most of its passengers.
Tshwane Emergency Services spokesperson Johan Pieterse said the minibus was a 22-seater, but reports from the scene suggested it was carrying 29 people, including the driver. Steve Mabona, Gauteng Department of Education spokesperson, confirmed the overload “allegations”, but said investigations were under way.
The collision claimed the lives 18 pupils and two adults.
Witnesses claimed the driver of the taxi underestimated the speed of the truck that was apparently approaching the vehicle in the opposite direction, and turned across it.
Mabona said seven pupils survived; two are in critical condition and five suffered serious injuries.
Those who died were burnt beyond recognition.
Mabona said the survivors were saved by people who had been behind the minibus before it caught fire.
The truck driver survived and was taken to hospital.