The transport ministry has directed Sanral to find an engineering solution to improve safety on a notorious road curve on the N1 route between Makhado and Musina in Limpopo.
Minister Barbara Creecy and deputy minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa said there have been multiple crashes on the curve just after Makhado (Louis Trichardt), involving buses and trucks.
The latest crash on the same stretch in the early hours of Thursday involved a passenger bus transporting more than 30 people between Gauteng and Zimbabwe. The death toll has risen to five people.
The Limpopo department of transport said: “A Marcopolo bus, travelling along the route, lost control, veered off the roadway and came to rest in a ditch. The incident resulted in five fatalities: the male driver, one female passenger and three male passengers.
“Four passengers sustained serious injuries, 10 were critically injured, and eighteen others suffered minor injuries. All injured parties have been taken to nearby medical facilities for treatment.”
The possible cause of the crash is currently recorded as driver loss of control, the department said.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has launched an investigation to determine the circumstances and cause of the accident.
Creecy and Hlengwa said they have also directed the RTMC to provide an update on a directive issued last October to intensify roadworthy inspections of buses crossing the Beit Bridge border.
“Both the RTMC and Sanral are expected to provide reports as a matter of priority,” the ministry said.
TimesLIVE
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