46 die on Limpopo roads in three weeks
CARNAGE on Limpopo roads has seen 46 people dead, all in less than three weeks.
On Friday morning, 16 people were killed in an accident on the R579 in Motetema, near Groblersdal. The accident involved several learners.
Community Safety and Transport spokesperson Tidimalo Chuene said a minibus taxi was involved in a head-on collision with a truck and another minibus taxi after allegedly overtaking unsafely.
“One of the minibus taxis involved was transporting learners to school. Drivers of the two taxis and six learners are among the 16 who have died.
“Four passengers with serious injuries were transported to a nearby health facility for medical attention.”
Also on Friday, three people lost their lives in an accident on the R71 at Mankweng, outside Polokwane.
According to Chuene, this was after a truck ignored a stop sign and sideswiped another motor vehicle.
Details of another accident that claimed five lives on the N1 South of Polokwane were still sketchy.
Last month, Independent Media reported that 22 people lost their lives in a bus accident. The bus was involved in a head-on collision with a cash-in-transit van that was allegedly trying to overtake another vehicle on the N1 outside Louis Trichardt. The bus rolled off a bridge and into a river.
The latest incident has brought the death toll on Limpopo roads to 46 in less than three weeks.
Limpopo MEC for Transport and Community Safety, Florence Radzilani, visited the families of the 16 who died.
According to Chuene, her initial assessment of the condition of the road and the time of day were that the fatality could have been caused by human factors.