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A bus that was involved in the Free State crash.
Free State MEC for Health, Menyatso Mahlatsi, has visited five survivors of the crash that occurred on the N6 between Smithfield and Reddersburg at Pelonomi hospital in Bloemfontein.
The collision claimed 10 lives, seven women, two men and a two-year old. 22 of the injured have been admitted to Smithfield and five in Pelonomi hospitals.
“I am here with my colleague Ntate Mbalula and the officials of the department to visit and encourage patients that have been admitted here at Pelonomi. Unfortunately, there is quite a huge number that we have lost today, and we really regret,” says MEC Mahlatsi.
Police are investigating a case of culpable homicide.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) sent a team of crash investigators to the scene to investigate the cause of the crash.
VIDEO | Free State government says medical practitioners have informed them that they are concerned about three of the patients admitted:
The bus was driving from Johannesburg to Idutywa in Eastern Cape while the truck was on its way to Winburg.
Two truck drivers who survived the accident were able to speak to the SABC at the hospital.
“We were coming from East London going to Winburg to load cows. My co-driver was driving and at Rouxville we swapped, so I took over the driving. About 5km towards Reddersburg, I saw the bus approaching and it was no longer in its lane. It was coming towards me. I avoided it and it crashed on to the side of the truck and into the trailer,” says one of the surviving drivers.
Another driver says, “I was lying on the bed when this happened. I heard a sound and then I got up. Then I realised that the truck is damaged. We had to use the left door to get out of the truck.”
Free State authorities have appealed to motorist to observe rules of the road.
On Monday, police recovered the bodies of eight people whose vehicle was swept away by strong water currents in Heilbron and on Sunday four people lost their lives in Warden in another crash.
Some Free State executive council members visited the injured admitted to the Smithfield and Pelonomi hospitals.
VIDEO| The survivor of the crash recounts the events that led to it:
