By Naledi Nyoni
HARARE — President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared a state of disaster following a bus crash in South Africa that claimed the lives of 11 Zimbabweans travelling home from Cape Town.
Government said the declaration, made under Section 27(1) of the Civil Protection Act, will speed up the mobilisation of resources to assist survivors, repatriate the dead and support bereaved families.
Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe announced the declaration on Sunday after the crash involving a Munhenzva Transport Services bus on the N1 highway near Trompsburg in South Africa’s Free State province on Thursday night.
Initial reports put the death toll at 10, but it rose to 11 after a 47-year-old woman died at Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital, where she had been receiving intensive care.
“The patient had been receiving intensive care and was on ventilatory support,” Free State Department of Health spokesperson Mondli Mvambi said.
Government said those killed were one adult man, five adult women and five minors.
Garwe said the disaster declaration would enable authorities to coordinate assistance for affected families, including repatriating the bodies, caring for survivors and providing humanitarian support.
Zimbabwe’s Consul General in Johannesburg, Eria Phiri, accompanied by Free State Health Department head Ernest Mohlahlo, visited injured passengers as authorities prepared for the identification of the deceased.
“The Free State government mortuary is coordinating arrangements for the identification of the deceased by their families with repatriation processes to follow suit,” Mvambi said.
Family members are expected to identify the victims from Monday until August 7 before repatriation begins.
Four passengers were admitted in critical condition after the crash.
Three remain under treatment at Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital and Universitas Academic Hospital in Bloemfontein following the death of the 47-year-old woman.
Most survivors were discharged on Friday after receiving treatment for minor injuries at Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein and Alfred Nzula Hospital in Trompsburg.
They have since returned to Zimbabwe aboard another bus.
Mnangagwa conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families and wished the injured a speedy recovery, government said.
