Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya
TRAFFIC is flowing again along the N1 Highway near Makhado, Limpopo, after rescue crews cleared the mangled remains of the DNC bus that crashed and killed 42 passengers on Sunday afternoon.
Authorities reopened the road on Monday after a full day of recovery and cleanup operations at the notorious Ingwe Lodge section, a stretch known for its sharp curves and deadly slopes.
The DNC Transport bus, which was ferrying Malawians and Zimbabweans from Port Elizabeth to Harare, plunged into an embankment, killing 42 people and injuring several others. Among the dead were seven children, 17 men and 18 women.
“The N1 national road between Louis Trichardt and Musina has reopened (for now) following yesterday afternoon’s fatal bus accident,” reported the Limpopo Mirror.
Emergency services had earlier blocked the section to allow rescue teams, police, and investigators to retrieve bodies and clear debris. The Road Traffic Management Corporation confirmed that a probe into the cause of the crash is already underway.
The injured were rushed to Louis Trichardt, Elim, and Siloam hospitals, where officials from the Malawian and Zimbabwean embassies are assisting survivors and families of the deceased.
The N1 is one of Southern Africa’s busiest trade and travel arteries, linking South Africa to Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, the DRC, and Angola.
Motorists are being urged to drive with extreme caution through the mountainous terrain between Musina and Makhado, an area fast gaining a grim reputation as a death trap.
