Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
THE physical identification of 11 Zimbabweans who died in a bus accident in South Africa’s Free State province will be conducted today, paving the way for the remains to be repatriated home by the Government.
President Mnangagwa has already declared the incident a State of Disaster following the horrific bus crash, invoking emergency powers to mobilise Government resources for repatriating the deceased and supporting survivors.
Acting under Section 27(1) of the Civil Protection Act, the declaration unlocks Government resources for repatriating bodies, supporting survivors and coordinating with South African authorities.
Officials say the scale of the loss demands more than routine consular assistance.
It is a rare formal step for an accident beyond Zimbabwe’s borders, underscoring both the scale of the casualties and the deep ties between Zimbabwean communities and the cross-border bus routes that carry migrant workers, students and families along the North-South corridor.
The declaration follows the July 31 crash of a Munhenzva Transport Services coach travelling from Cape Town to Harare, which went off the road near Trompsburg in South Africa’s Free State province.
Zimbabwe’s Consul General to South Africa (Johannesburg), Mr Eria Phiri, said post-mortems had been completed and that the Free State Premier’s office and the Zimbabwe Embassy will jointly hold a memorial service for the deceased before the bodies are moved to Zimbabwe.
“We expect to have the bodies in Zimbabwe by Saturday morning, and we are going to have a memorial service after the physical identification of our departed nationals in the Free State on Thursday,” he said.
“We have identified one male adult, five female adults, three female minors and two male minors among the deceased. The Government of Zimbabwe is facilitating the repatriations.
“We’re grateful for the support from our host government. A total of 13 people are still in hospital — five are at Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital and eight at Universitas Academic Hospital.”
The deceased were travelling independently from Cape Town to Zimbabwe. The names of the victims will be released at a later stage.
The accident occurred along the N1 road north of Trompsburg. The bus was travelling from Cape Town and was bound for Zimbabwe.
At least 66 people survived the crash with varying injuries and were taken to medical facilities for treatment.
Free State Department of Health spokesperson Mr Mondli Mvambi told journalists that the identities and genders of the deceased are yet to be confirmed.
He said the bus overturned about 24km north of Trompsburg en route to Edenburg with about 78 passengers.
Survivors with minor injuries were referred to Albert Nzula Hospital in Trompsburg for treatment.
Mr Mvambi said five passengers sustained serious injuries, while four who were in critical condition were admitted for emergency treatment at Pelonomi Trauma Hospital in Bloemfontein.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation. The N1 highway in South Africa is fast becoming a death trap for many travellers, both local and cross-border.
This is a major commercial route linking South Africa with its northern neighbours, including Zimbabwe, Zambia, DRC, Malawi, Angola and Tanzania.
